Cowboy Bebop: Across the Milky Way
by Megami-Sama88
Summary: Set post RFB... (possible continuation of my fic And the Beat Goes On). This tale illustrates the adventures of the Bebop crew as they still struggle to catch bounties. What kind of mischief will the Bebopers get into this time around? Genres: Friendship, Adventure, Romance, Humor. T for language and some mild, adult humor.
1. Session 27: A Tisket, A Tasket I

**A/N: **_Hello my fellow Space Cadets! I am still obsessing over Cowboy Bebop and so I have been writing nonstop for the past few days. I'm all out of tears, seeing as I have read enough sad Bebop fics to last me a lifetime lol. I want this one to be more lighthearted. It is set post RFB II and I wanted to make each chapter have the same feel as a Bebop Session, so each installment will be 2-3 chapters long, depending on how bad our criminals are and how prepared the Bebopers are for them lol. I hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

"Remember… this guy is _old money_ and doesn't think any _new money _is worth respect_._ If you want to get his attention, you have to act the part. That means you have to _behave _and work together. I don't want to hear you arguing and betraying the fact that we are far from _any_ kind of money" Jet said seriously over the comm.

"I'll behave if she does" Spike said with a wry smile, placing a cigarette in his mouth.

"I _always _ behave" Faye said sweetly. Spike snorted.

"I mean it, you two! This is the biggest bounty we have had in months and we need the dough. Don't mess it up" Jet grumbled, getting annoyed already.

"Relax. You worry too much, it's not good for old age" Faye said, knowing this would irritate the man.

"I'll take your advice… after all, you're the granny here" Jet shot back. Faye pursed her lips as Spike guffawed through the comm.

"I'll get you for that one, baldy!" she fumed.

"Don't anger the old biddy, Jet. I need her in a good mood" Spike snickered, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Ha-ha. You guys are _so_ funny" Faye said sarcastically.

"Well, you two better get going. The dinner party will start in about three hours and you better make it on time. Get those papers signed" Jet said.

"Don't worry, boss. We got this" Spike said calmly.

But Jet knew better than to keep his hopes too high. It was always a land mine when Spike and Faye worked together. With a deep sigh, he lit a smoke and waited.

* * *

"Just so you know, I call dibs on the shower first" Spike said over the comm.

"What?! No way! I need at _least _two hours to get ready!" Faye said, her voice broken up by static.

"Exactly. That's why I'm showering first. I'll take all of fifteen minutes" Spike replied.

"Not a chance! Whoever gets to the hotel room first will get first dibs!" Faye said.

"Are you challenging me to a race, Faye?" Spike asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" she said gleefully as the Red Tail zoomed past the Swordfish II, leaving it behind in seconds.

"Bad move" Spike said, a grin spreading across his face.

* * *

"The Swordfish was built for speed, baby" Spike said smugly as he waited for Faye to climb out of her zip craft's cockpit.

"Yeah, yeah. You just got lucky this time, Spike-O" she said, dragging a small suitcase behind her. "Next time, I won't go easy on you. Hurry up and take your shower… and don't finish the hot water!"

"I'm not like you, Faye. I have not a single selfish bone in my body" Spike teased as he opened the door to the hotel room. It smelled of old cigarettes and stale beer.

"Eh…" Faye said, wrinkling her nose and looking around the seedy room. "You'd think Jet would have gotten us a better room considering we're supposed to be this big-shot new money couple. I mean, what if El Dandy wants to come over for a visit?"

Spike undid his tie and unbuttoned his yellow dress shirt. "I doubt he'll want to come over for a nice cup of coffee, Faye, so don't worry. Besides, it's your fault we're in this dump" He tossed his yellow shirt on the bed.

"What? _My _fault? How do you figure?" she asked as she threw the suitcase on the bed too.

"Well, if you hadn't been so careless in our last hunt and smashed into the Hammerhead… Jet wouldn't have had to spend our reward ordering that special—"

"Alright, _alright_" Faye interrupted him, not wanting to be reminded of that fiasco.

Spike tossed his white under shirt on the bed as well and began undoing his pants.

"Whoa, there, cowboy, you better not get naked _here_" Faye said.

"Why not?" Spike asked, walking to the small bathroom, his pants unbuttoned.

"I don't want to see… your _swordfish_" she said, biting her tongue to keep from laughing.

Spike snorted.

"That was lame, even for you" he called from behind the closed bathroom door.

Faye smiled as she took her white boots off. She began to rummage through the suit case as she heard the shower start. She would never, _ever_ admit it out loud, but damn it, she was happy that Spike Spiegel—the biggest dunderhead she knew— had made it back alive from his final encounter with his past.

It had been almost a year ago that she and Jet had found him on the brink of death. If she was honest with herself, she had feared Spike was never going to come back to the Bebop. She was familiar with Vicious, and the man was true to his name. It was clear that he wanted Spike dead… and what with Julia gone… Faye sighed. She was sure Spike had gone on a suicidal mission, fully intending to die that day. Maybe he had, but Spike Spiegel was strong and had pulled through. She never mentioned it, but he seemed different as well. Different in a _good_ way. Gone was the haunted look from his eyes; the storm behind the mismatched irises had finally cleared. Sure, he was still the arrogant, insufferable, reckless, infuriating, lazy Spike Spiegel they all knew, but he seemed… happy now; at peace with himself. It was obvious by his very demeanor that a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Not that she thought about Spiegel often. And she _didn't _analyze him either, thank you very much. She just noticed these things, that's all.

* * *

Two and half hours later, they were making their way to the birthday party. With no money to pay for even a taxi, they were getting there on foot.

"Wait… my microphone is falling" Faye said, grabbing a hold of Spike's arm. She inserted her free hand into her cleavage and fixed the tiny device, securing it onto her blue, velvet dress. "Alright, I'm ready" she said, fixing the dress over her boobs.

"Classy" Spike said, lighting a cigarette.

"Hey, I can't walk around with my boobs hanging out!" she said.

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked skeptically.

Faye rolled her eyes. She knew he was thinking of her usual yellow attire, but that was different. It _was_, damnit. "Anyway, what's our story again?" she asked him for the fifth time that night.

Spike sighed.

"Pay attention, Faye. We are husband and wife" he said after taking a drag of his cig. "We want to make business with him so we can build an oceanfront hotel. He's a loan-shark, leader of an illegal loans ring"

"Oh, right. My favorite kind" Faye said with a heavy sigh, thinking about all of her debts.

"Anyway, these guys are just as ruthless as any drug cartel when it comes right down to it. They prey on the poor, taking things like personal information and passports to ensure payment. And if you don't pay, you're dead" Spike continued.

Faye pursed her lips. She was all too familiar with debt collectors, but thankfully she had never borrowed money from any criminal. She wasn't that desperate… yet. She hoped she never was.

"So our job is to just nab him or what?" she asked.

"Basically yeah. Just get him to talk to us for a little, lull him into a false sense of security and then send him on his merry way to the ISSP" Spike said.

"Why do we need to be all dolled up then? Sounds like a job we've done millions of times" Faye said with exasperation.

"Because we need him to sign the papers. We need _proof _that he's doing something illegal, the ISSP doesn't have concrete evidence, just complaints about the man" Spike said, tossing the cigarette butt aside.

"Alright, whatever, let's just get it done, my feet are killing me already" Faye said with a pout.

As soon as they arrived to the designated place, they were greeted by a butler. The inside of the mansion was unlike anything Faye had ever set eyes on. The glossy marble floors only served to accentuate the fancy furniture that decorated the place.

"Mr. and Mrs.?" the man in the impeccable black suit asked.

"Weiss" Spike said smoothly, his hands in his pockets. The man in black ran his finger down the list he was holding and then nodded.

"Right, do come in, Mr. and Mrs. Weiss, enjoy" he said.

"Weiss, huh" Faye whispered with a smirk. "Even the name sounds posh."

They finally made it to where other guests were already gathered, mingling and talking with each other. Spike placed his hand on the small of Faye's back.

"Hey! And just what do you think you're doing?" Faye hissed in dismay.

"What, darling? We are a loving couple, aren't we?" Spike said casually, giving her a slow smile. Faye narrowed her eyes at him but remained silent as he guided her towards the table laden with food.

"Don't go getting drunk" she said.

"Or you" he shot back.

Just then, a large man entered the room. He wore an expensive black suit with white pinstripes and a matching fedora. His white shoes were so polished Faye was sure she could have used them as mirrors. On his hand was a thick, gold watch and to her, he looked more like a pimp than a loan shark.

"That's our man" Spike said quietly.

Yes, this man was definitely El Dandy.

* * *

**A/N: **_So there it is, the opening to this fic! Please let me know what you think in a review. All comments welcome, but just don't be rude lol. _


	2. Session 27: A Tisket, A Tasket II

**A/N: **_Oops, I have to apologize for my previous chapter, it seems the separation lines disappeared and I didn't think to make sure everything was in place. Sorry about that! It's been fixed. Anyway, this is part two of this session, and I hope you like it! Thank you for the reviews! It does my heart good to know that there are still people reading Bebop fics!_

* * *

"Alright, it's our time to shine, baby" Spike said to himself with a slow smile as El Dandy went around laughing and shaking hands with his guests.

He was loud and obnoxious and when he set his beady eyes on Faye, his face broke out into a lewd, broad grin that made Faye feel dirty. She was not new to these kinds of stares from men, of course; she was more than used to them and she even used them to her advantage. But this one… this _man_ was very obviously undressing her with his eyes in a way that Faye had never experienced before.

"My, my. I had no idea that Aphrodite herself was among us" he said as he took her small hand in his beefy one. He planted a kiss on it and Faye wanted to recoil in disgust, but she forced her best smile for him.

"You flatter me, sir" she said with practiced sweetness. Spike cleared his throat and she wanted to kick his shin.

"Mr. Weiss, you never told me your wife was a goddess" El Dandy said as he shook Spike's hand.

"I wouldn't have done her justice" Spike said smoothly, winking at Faye. El Dandy guffawed.

"I agree, my man! I agree! She is a beauty that must be appreciated in person. Up close and personal" he said, giving Spike a knowing smile.

It infuriated Faye that El Dandy was talking about her as if she wasn't there. Typical macho man. If it was up to her, she'd just punch his face right in, tie him up and get the ISSP here pronto. But they needed those papers. She forced her smile to remain on her face.

"Enjoy the party, my friends" El Dandy said as he spotted another couple in the room.

"The nerve of that guy!" Faye fumed as soon as El Dandy was out of earshot. Spike laughed.

"Well, he sure seems taken with you" he said calmly, grabbing a plate from the table and looking around at the food. "Man, Jet is missing out" he added as he began to pile some onto his plate.

"I've never felt so dirty in my life" Faye continued to rage, ignoring Spike.

"Ah well, use it to our advantage, Faye. He may be more cooperative if you work your charms on him" Spike said before tearing into a lobster cake.

"Easy for you to say" Faye grumbled, helping herself to his shrimp hors d'oeuvres. A young waiter strolled by and Faye stopped him. "I'll take one of these, thank you very much" she said, grabbing a pretty-looking, pink drink from his tray.

"Yes ma'am, enjoy" the young man said. Spike grabbed a small glass full of amber liquid. The waiter nodded and moved away to other guests.

"Oh my gosh… this is delicious" Faye said after a sip. "What is it?"

"That, my dear, is a raspberry-herb cocktail" Spike said.

"How do you know?" she asked, taking another sip.

"I was in the syndicate, Faye. Way up the ladder, I might add. I'm not new to these bullshit parties" he said.

"Hmm" she said, pursing her lips.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Nothing at all" she answered sweetly, enjoying the smooth music in the background.

* * *

"I'm tired, Spike. I want to go home, hurry up and get this thing rolling!" Faye hissed. They had been mingling with snobby people for over two hours now, and El Dandy was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm trying to find him" Spike said, his mismatched eyes scanning the room.

"Mr. Weiss" El Dandy said from behind them, startling the bounty hunters. He reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke. His eyes were hazy and he was clearly drunk. "I know we had some business to discuss, but you know how it goes! Too many people to see and talk to. Anyway, follow me!" he said loudly. He led them away from the party and into a huge office. "Please sit down" he said as he himself sat behind the sleek, mahogany desk. "Now, tell me. What can I do for you, Mr. Weiss?" he said, pouring scotch into three glasses. He offered one to Spike and Faye as he downed the liquid in his glass.

"Well, my wife and I," Spike began but Faye tuned him out. She was looking around the grand room. It was lovely, especially the large bookshelf in the back wall, but it was the shelf that brought memories of her past life flooding in. This office reminded her of her father's study and how often he had locked himself inside, drinking himself into a stupor or else sleeping with the maids. She shook her head to clear it, but she couldn't shake the memory of her mother crying, banging on the large doors to the study, his father screaming obscenities from inside. She was a little girl again, frozen in the middle of the hallway, watching the events unfold. No, nothing good had come from her past…

"Darling?" she heard Spike say, far, far away. A hand on her shoulder snapped her back to reality.

"Oh… I'm sorry. What was that?" she said, mentally slapping herself. Spike gave her a warning look before smiling his easy smile and repeating his question.

"I asked if you would be ok handling the paper work while I step outside for a moment" he said.

"I… yes, I can handle it, no problem" she lied. She didn't even know what the hell was going on.

"I'll be right back" he said, giving her another look. He closed the door behind him.

Oh great. What was she supposed to do now?

"So… you're a beautiful woman" El Dandy said, looking at her with his beady eyes. The papers on his desk were ignored.

"Why, thank you for the compliment. You are _most_ kind" she said.

"I could make you _very_ happy" he slurred. Faye wanted to puke.

"I'm afraid I don't understand" she said stiffly.

"Yes you do. Why is a goddess like your married to a man like Mr. Weiss?" he said as he walked around the desk. Faye wanted to run away but remained seated, looking at him. "As my mistress, you can have whatever you want. Never mind _one _oceanfront hotel, I will give you a chain of them" he said, getting closer to her.

"Uh… I don't think this is going anywhere, I better just wait for my husband" Faye said uncomfortably, scooting her chair back.

"No need for that, babe, I can take care of him right now" El Dandy said, grabbing her arm.

* * *

"The man is smarter than we thought, Jet" Spike said into the tiny communicator inside the lapel of his black suit. "He's throwing curve-balls I'm not ready for"

"Well, do your best, Spike, and if nothing comes of it, we'll just consider it a job lost" Jet said.

Suddenly there was a scream and Spike new who it was.

"Faye's in trouble!" he said. Not waiting for an answer, he ran back inside the room. Sure enough, El Dandy had her pinned against the wall, trying to grope her. She was putting up a fierce fight, which made Spike proud. In an instant, the bounty hunter pulled out his Jericho.

"Get away from her" he said calmly.

"Or what?" El Dandy asked.

At that precise moment, Jet's voice sounded through both communicators.

"Are you alright?! What's going on?!" he asked in alarm.

"Ah, shit" Spike mumbled.

The man's eyes widened in realization.

"Bounty hunters" he snarled. "You fucking cunts are bounty hunters!"

"Surprise, surprise" Spike said, his gun still pointed at the criminal.

"Mother fuckers!" El Dandy thundered. He pushed back away from Faye and grabbed a chair, tossing it at Spike who easily dodged it.

"Oh no you don't, you jerk!" Faye said, pulling out her Glock 30. She was furious and didn't hesitate to shoot, her bullet grazing the large man's shoulder.

He shrieked in pain but managed to shove a chair at Spike, hitting him hard on the shins and making him lose his balance for a second. El Dandy's men, upon hearing the shot, flooded the place and the party guests screamed and ran out of the house in panic as more shots were fired in every direction.

"Oh damn, this didn't go how we planned" Spike said, jumping over the over turned chairs in the office. He looked back at Faye. "You alright?" he asked. She nodded.

"But I'll feel better when I get my woolongs" she said, following Spike out of the room. El Dandy's cronies came running down the hall and began to shoot at them. Together, Spike and Faye shot them down with ease.

"Guess we make a pretty good team, huh?" Spike said, lighting a cigarette.

"Yeah, I guess so" Faye said. "Where did he go? I'm not letting him get away."

They heard a loud noise overhead. It was familiar to Faye, but she was sure she was hearing things. It couldn't be a… could it?

"No! We're too late!" she said with a heavy sigh.

"Not yet, let's go!" Spike said.

They made their way up some stairs and onto the rooftop. Sure enough, El Dandy was aboard… a helicopter.

"What the hell? Is that a _helicopter_" Spike asked incredulously.

"It appears so. I didn't know we still had them" Faye said as she blocked her eyes from the powerful wind the blades were blasting.

"We don't. It's an antique. I never thought I'd see a working one" Spike said, mildly impressed.

"Never mind that! Stop him!" Faye said.

"It's alright, he can't fly it. He would have taken off already if he did" Spike said calmly and grumbled when his cigarette was blown away from his mouth. Faye shot at the cockpit.

"You will never catch me now!" El Dandy said, but the helicopter didn't rise into the air. They heard him cussing and cursing at the top of his lungs, smashing his fingers over all the buttons.

"What the hell is his deal? You said we needed him to sign papers to prove he's a crook, no? So why is he acting like a maniac?" Faye asked.

"He has more skeletons in the closet, more than likely" Spike said.

It was amusing to see El Dandy trying to escape and getting nowhere.

"Look, what if I give you the drug and you let me go?" El Dandy said, sticking his head out. "It's Bloody Eye… a case full of it. You can sell that for millions per vial. Come on now, what do you say? I'll even throw in the oceanfront hotel, so there aren't any hard feelings" he added.

Spike and Faye looked at each other and laughed.

"Get your ass out here, Dandy, you're done" Spike said, taking a step forward.

"No!" El Dandy screamed, and in his panic, he flung himself out of the helicopter, jumping high in the air. Faye yelped in surprise and then there was a sudden shower of red.

She gagged and turned away.

Spike sighed, closing his eyes and shoving his hands into his pockets. "There goes our bounty" he said.

"Gross, I'm getting out of here" Faye said, feeling queasy.

* * *

"What happened, you two?" Jet asked through the comm.

"We lost the bounty" Spike answered.

"WHAT?!" Jet roared.

"Yup. It's gone" Spike replied, taking out yet another cigarette.

"How?" Jet asked.

"He lost it" Faye said, bumming a cig from Spike.

"He lost it? What do you mean?" Jet asked.

Spike sighed. "He lost his head"

"You mean he went crazy?" Jet inquired.

"No. He lost his head" Spike repeated, taking a drag of his cigarette. "_Literally._"

"He died, Jet" Faye added.

"Damn it" Jet said, running a hand over his face before turning off the comm.

Spike and Faye walked on in silence. They were making their way back to the hotel as the ISSP and ambulances made their way overhead to the scene of the shoot down.

"Some party, huh" Spike said, shrugging out of his black coat and swinging it over his shoulder.

"I always knew I wasn't a party girl" Faye replied, dangling her high heels on her finger; she was walking barefoot. "I wonder what other stuff he was hiding, though. He completely freaked out when he found us out" she said.

Spike shrugged. "Who knows? We'll never find out now. In the words of Heinlein: a tisket, a tasket, a head in a basket... it cannot reply to questions you ask it" he said, taking a long drag from the smoke.

"You're disgusting" Faye said, elbowing him. Spike grinned.

"Just telling it like it is" he said.

* * *

**A/N: **_So there you have it! Hope everyone enjoyed Session 27! The name of the chapter is derived from the jazz song A Tisket, A Tasket by Ella Fitzgerald, and of course, with a hint of Heinlein. Leave me your thoughts! _


	3. Session 28: Feeling Good

**A/N:** _Alright guys, this chapter doesn't have a lot of action and doesn't revolve around hunting criminals. It's just a small window into a regular day at the Bebop. I was inspired by an official artwork where they have the crew lounging around at the beach (I think). It's pretty popular, so if you want to take a look, just google it. _

* * *

The day was hot on Mars. Even the Bebop was having trouble keeping the inside of the ship cool. Spike was lounging on the yellow couch, eyes closed, fanning his face with one of Faye's magazines. He had discarded his yellow dress shirt and was now in his white under shirt, which was drenched in sweat. His brown curls were plastered to his forehead.

"I'm turning off the AC. Anymore and the Bebop will probably malfunction" Jet said, coming in from the kitchen. Even he had discarded his regular attire and was walking around in blue shorts and a white t-shirt.

"It's up to you, but expect hell to pay from Miss She-dragon" Spike mumbled.

"We _are _in hell" Jet grumbled.

Sure enough, five minutes later, Faye stormed into the lounge.

"What's going on?! I'm dying in here!" she said.

"The Bebop can't take the stress of the AC being on full blast non-stop" Jet said, crossing his arms as he sat on the seat across from Spike.

"We're going to die here" she said, sitting on the stairs. "I'm melting"

"That's strange… we didn't throw water over you" Spike said, peering at her with one eye.

Jet sniggered.

"Haha, I'm just cracking up here, Spike" she retorted. Spike grinned. "That's it. I can't take it!" she said as she got to her feet. She stomped out of the room.

Minutes later, they heard her clanging around the ship.

"What is she doing?" Jet asked.

"Beats me" Spike said.

A moment later, she went into the kitchen. She came out dragging a cooler full of ice and beer.

"Now what the hell are you doin', Faye?" Jet asked, following her.

"We can't stay inside. At least there's a breeze outside and it's a clear sky" she said as she dragged the cooler along. Jet grumbled and took the cooler from her, placing it over his broad shoulder. "Well thank you! I'll be right out with other stuff!" she said.

Spike sat up and removed his soaked shirt.

"What's going on?" he asked as Faye passed by.

"Picnic" she said simply.

"Picnic?" he repeated in the empty lounge.

"Yes, picnic, Spike, are you deaf?" she asked as she came back. She was now wearing her black and white bikini, a huge, floppy sun hat on her head. In her arms she carried towels and blankets. "Bring the steaks, will ya? I'm starving" she said before she went through the door.

"Can't say no to steaks, can I?" Spike said with a wry smile. He first went to his room to change into a pair of shorts and then made his way into the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge until he found the steaks.

When he went outside, Jet and Faye were setting up the "picnic" on the flight deck. Faye had spread out the blankets on the deck, along with some old beach chairs and a rickety table they had. A patio umbrella provided a little shade. Jet was firing up a grill Spike didn't even know Jet owned.

"Where the hell did all this come from?" Spike asked.

"I know, right? I didn't know I had it. It was in the storage room where you let that lobster mutate" Jet said, poking fun at Spike. Spike sighed and hung his head.

"We almost died" Faye added.

"Yeah, yeah" Spike said, sitting on a chair. "What's that? Are those _chips_?" Spike asked, his mouth watering as he popped open a bag.

"Yeah… turns out Faye here likes to stash food in her room without us knowing" Jet said.

"Gimmie a break. In my defense, Spike is like a vacuum cleaner when it comes to food, see?" she said, taking a beer form the cooler.

"Like you can talk" Jet mumbled.

"I heard that!" Faye said.

"You mean you spend your money on more than just the casinos?" Spike asked, stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth.

"Of course" Faye said simply. "And now that you're here, you can help me put on sunscreen"

"Yeah right" Spike said with his mouth full.

"Do it or I won't share my chips with you!" Faye threatened.

"Damn, that's cold" Spike said, grabbing the sunscreen. Faye sat on one of the blankets and Spike knelt behind her.

"Full coverage" she said as she felt the cool cream hit the back of her neck. Seconds later, she felt Spike's hands distribute the ointment across her shoulders and back. Something about his hands on her bare skin made her tingle. She had to admit they were nice; large and lean… hands that could kill without hesitation… were being gentle as they massaged the sunscreen all over her back.

"Alright, Valentine, your turn" he said, handing her the cream.

He lay on his stomach and she pursed her lips. His back had no right to be so muscular and… sexy. She poured cream between his shoulder blades and began to lather the ointment all over. Damn, it felt nice; all muscles and smooth skin…

Jet smiled to himself. If he didn't know any better…

But as soon as Faye was done, Spike jumped to his feet and returned to his chair, stuffing his mouth with chips once more.

"Hey Spike, hand me a beer, would ya?" Jet said as he placed the stakes on the grill. Immediately, the smell made all three stomachs growl. Spike handed Jet a beer.

"We need music" the lanky bounty hunter said.

"Yeah… turn on the radio, it's right there by the cooler" Jet said, taking a drink.

Spike did as he was told and immediately a jazz song came on.

"That's better" Spike said, grabbing a beer for himself.

"What a lovely day" Faye said.

"You were just complaining about the heat not too long ago" Jet pointed out.

"Don't sweat the small stuff" Faye said, peering at Jet over her sunglasses. Jet grunted.

Spike stretched himself out on one of the beach chairs and placed his hands behind his head. The warm breeze felt great against his sticky skin. Damn. He was feeling good.

* * *

Jet rubbed his belly. The steaks had been delicious. Nothing better than relaxing with some good food, good beer and good… friends.

Yes, the Bebop crew members were his friends. It had taken a long time to realize that they meant more to him than he cared to admit, but there it was. The truth. And he knew that Spike and Faye felt the same way. Each of them had struggled to come to terms with the past; he with Alisa, Faye with her memory loss, and Spike with the syndicate and Julia. In the end, they had all tied the loose ends and he was glad. They were able to move on, face forward, live life. And sure, the life they chose was not a luxurious one, and they were hungry more often than not, but it was the life for them. They were good at their job and they were good with each other. Yeah, the Bebop was still short two members, but he was sure that someday, somewhere, he would see crazy Ed and little Ein again.

"Woolong for your thoughts" Spike said, offering the large man a beer.

"Oh, I wasn't thinking about much. Just what a nice day it is" Jet said, taking the cold bottle.

Spike stood up and stretched. "I'm going for a swim" he said.

"Yeah, I think I'll go too" Jet said as he got to his feet as well.

"Well, knock yourselves out, boys" Faye replied, crossing her arm over her face.

Jet and Spike exchanged grins.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Put me down, you ruffians!" Faye shrieked as Spike took hold of her wrists and Jet took hold of her ankles. Together, they carried her off the blanket easily and swung her back and forth over the edge of the flight deck.

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" she yelled, squirming in their grasp. But it was no use. On the fourth swing, they both let go of her limbs and she was sent flying into the water.

"Argh! You gotta be kidding me!" she said as she surfaced. "I'll get you for this!" she said, climbing back onto the deck. She charged at Jet who was too slow for her attack. Grabbing him by the arm and with surprising strength for such a petite girl, she pushed him over the edge with a yelp. "And you!" she said, lunging towards Spike. Spike was fast, unlike Jet, and he outran her easily. But in his haste to get away from the crazy woman, he slipped on the water she had dripped all over the deck. Landing on his behind, he slid across the floor and over the edge as well.

"Ha! Serves you right!" Faye said gleefully. Spike began to throw water at her. "That's it. You asked for it, fuzz head!" she said and with that, she ran full speed at the men, jumped high in the air and, hugging her knees, landed in the water. She splashed them both.

"I win" she said smugly.

"Not on my watch, missy" Spike said, swimming after her as she shrieked with glee.

Yes, Jet liked days like these. Moments like these that showed him who his comrades _really_ were. Faye, beneath the tough exterior, was nothing but a caring person. She cared a lot more than she let on. But on days like these, it was easy to see Faye Valentine as the sweet little girl from the video. When she let her guard down, the _real_ Faye would come out to say hello to her friends.

And Spike, without the heavy burden of his past with the syndicate, and without the shadow of the woman he had once loved, was a different person as well. Sure, he had always been laid back and goofy and all that, but he felt different now. He still smoked like a train, and he still loved pressing all of Faye's buttons, but Jet could tell he was happy. He was even silly from time to time… like the time when he had danced exactly like some old actor from that one movie… Saturday something or other… for his and Faye's benefit.

Yup. He and his crew were feeling good now. And if they could find the missing pieces, why, they would be _complete_.

* * *

**A/N: **_There it is! Lol. A little Faye/Spike hint here and there. The part about Spike dancing may seem out of character, but that was actually inspired by another official artwork that has him doing a famous dancing pose (John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever), and again, you can google it to see it. The title of this chapter is inspired by the song called Feeling Good (as sung by Michael Buble) so check it out, I think it's great! Leave me you're reviews? Gives me hope to continue writing for Bebop lol. _


	4. Session 29: Nothing Changes I

**A/N: **_Hello fellow space cowboys! I bring you session 28! The inspiration for this session's title comes from the song called The Nothing Changes by The Kilimajaro Darkjazz Ensemble. I thought I might introduce the main baddie for this fic already because I wanted to have a purpose. **Warning!** The following entry has brief, mild sexual implications. Not explicit or vulgar in any way, but a heads up anyway. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

_He could smell her familiar perfume. She was beneath him, sighing and whispering his name. Her long, golden hair was as soft as ever, her skin was like silk. She was so warm and familiar…_

_He gathered her in his arms, pulling her closer to him, burying his face in the crook of her neck. _

"_Spike…" she breathed as she wrapped her legs around his waist._

"_Julia" he said, trailing kisses along the smooth skin of her neck._

_Her nails dug deep into his back, scratching but not hurting him._

"_Spike…" she said again with more urgency._

"_Julia…" he sighed, lost in the feel of her body pressed against his._

"_Spike" she said a little louder… but her voice had changed as well. _

"_What is it?" he asked, supporting himself on his elbows. He looked down at her and gasped in horror. _

_Her naked torso was bathed in scarlet blood, a bullet wound oozing vermilion._

"_Julia!" he said in alarm. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "Hang on! Don't die!" he said. But his body was too heavy to move. _

"_It's ok, cowboy. It's just a dream" Julia said, smiling and placing her hand on his cheek._

"_What?" Spike asked, taking deep breathes to calm himself. But it wasn't Julia anymore. It was Faye and she was naked and she was pulling his head down for a kiss. But then it wasn't Faye anymore, it was Julia again._

"_It's all just a dream" she said as she kissed him softly. His heart raced as Julia turned into Faye and Faye turned into Julia again and again. The room spun out of control._

"_Spike…it's not just a dream" Faye said, her green eyes looking terribly sad._

"_He's back, Spike… he's back. Run… you have to run" Julia said._

"_What? Who's back?" Spike said, his head reeling._

"_He's back… he's back" Julia repeated._

"_Run… run away Spike" Faye said._

"_Who?!" Spike shouted. _

"_VICIOUS!" Julia shrieked._

* * *

"Whoa, Spike, are you alright?" Jet asked shaking the sleeping man's shoulder.

Spike was sprawled on the yellow couch, his yellow shirt damp with sweat. Jet was standing over the couch, peering at the lanky man's face.

"What happened?" Spike asked, rubbing his face with his hands.

"You tell me. You woke up shouting Vicious… nightmare?" Jet asked, crossing his hands over his chest.

Spike sighed and finally looked around. They were alone. He reached down into his pants' pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes.

"So…" Jet said, not sure if he should press his friend for more information. Spike remained silent and lit his cig. It was a while before he spoke.

"Yeah. A nightmare" he said flatly.

"But you're ok, right?" Jet asked, scratching his head. The last time Spike had had a nightmare was over a year ago (that he knew of anyway) and he didn't want his friend haunted by whatever it was that still bugged him. The last time Spike had allowed himself to be haunted by his demons he had gone on a suicidal mission that would have killed him had he and Faye not gone after his stubborn ass.

"Jet… when you found me… what exactly happened?" Spike asked, swinging his long legs over the couch and sitting up. He had asked the same question a thousand times before, but he wanted to hear the answer again. Had to be sure.

"You almost didn't make it" Jet answered.

"And… Vicious?" Spike asked, afraid to know the answer. But why was he afraid? He _knew_ the answer. He knew Vicious was dead. He had been dead for over a year now.

"He died" Jet replied. _"Actually… He was dead from the beginning… just like you Spike."_

"What did you just say?!" Spike asked, jumping to his feet.

Jet looked taken aback. "I said he died"

"No… the other thing you said" Spike said angrily. Jet looked confused.

"I didn't say anything else. All I said is that he died" the older man answered slowly.

"You… you didn't say he was dead like me?" Spike asked his shoulders sagging a little.

"Uh… no. All I said was that he died" Jet replied. "Look, are you sure you're alright?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. It was just a nightmare, after all"

"Well, if you're sure…" Jet said, unconvinced.

"Where's Faye?" Spike asked, keen to change the subject already.

"She went shopping" Jet answered. He knew something was bothering his friend. He hated to see him sucked into more hurt and worry.

"I'm gonna take a shower" Spike said, leaving Jet alone.

Jet sighed.

"I wonder what that was all about" Jet muttered to himself. In the silence of the Bebop, the ex-cop suddenly wished Ed was there to make some noise.

* * *

Spike rested his forehead against the cold metal of the shower wall, the warm water soothing his tired body. He was still thinking about the nightmare.

What could it mean? Was Vicious really back? And why the hell had he dreamed about Faye? _Naked_ Faye, to be exact. Naked Faye in a dream where he had been making love to Julia… it made no sense.

Or was it really just a dream? A simple dream… the kind of strange dream everyone had every once in a while. Was he reading too much into things? He thought he had left his past behind him. He had slept easy for months now, so why was he dreaming this crap? Maybe something he saw during the day had triggered it. That had to be it. Nothing to it. It was just a regular bad dream and he was worrying over nothing. He leaned his head back and allowed the water to pour all over his face.

He thought about Faye. She had looked so lovely in his dream, dark hair splayed out against the white pillow, sadness in her emerald eyes. A tragic _Bella Donna_, naked in his arms…

He shook his head. Maybe a cold shower would have been better. He needed to get a grip on himself…

* * *

Faye sat on a stool inside the fast-food restaurant. It was a funky little joint with a retro vibe to it, like something from the 1950s. She stirred her strawberry milkshake and looked around. It was a nice place; she liked coming here every time they docked at Mars. The place was almost empty, save a few customers. A woman with two small children, an old lady sitting across from a young man (probably a grandson, Faye thought), a young couple feeding each other, the blond waitress and the older man whom Faye knew to be the cook. An excellent one at that.

"Hey, Maddy, care to turn on the TV for me?" Faye asked the young waitress who smiled cheerfully.

"Sure!" she said as she clicked the power button.

Some trashy tabloid show was on the current channel, talking about a woman who had cheated on her boyfriend and now didn't know who the father of her child was. Faye snorted in disgust. She wondered how anyone could watch this crap.

Suddenly, the show was interrupted by a happy little western jingle she recognized.

"Hello, amigos! All three hundred thousand bounty hunters in the star system! How y'all doin'?" Punch said through the TV screen.

"We interrupt your broadcast to bring you some really important news!" Judy said cheerfully, making sure to flash her large diamond ring. Faye smiled to herself. The show, Big Shot, had been cancelled for a while, but had returned a few months ago. Judy had married her agent and the show had resumed after their honeymoon. The busty blond never failed to show off her wedding ring in each broadcast.

"Ah yes, pay close attention, my friends, because this is serious" Punch said somberly.

"Yeah! We just received news that the man known as Nemesis, convicted six years ago for multiple accounts of murder, drug trafficking, and terrorism, has escaped from the maximum security prison: Adonis. As you all know this prison is the most heavily guarded prison in the star system and is located in Saturn's eighth moon, Hyperion" Judy explained with a pout.

"We don't know how he managed such a feat… nobody has ever escaped from Adonis before!" Punch said.

"There is a 900 million woolong reward for his capture!" Judy added. Faye raised her eyebrows.

"But be warned, cowboys! With this reward comes great risk! This man is the real deal. He's a class 5 criminal… the highest class there is. Use caution if you decide to go after him, amigos. Again, he must be turned in alive for you to get the reward. Be safe, my friends, this man is dangerous!"

"But wait! We haven't showed his picture!" Judy exclaimed before they were taken off the air.

"30 seconds!" a male voice sounded in the background of the Big Shot set.

On the screen, the picture of the man, Nemesis, appeared. Faye gasped and choked on her milkshake.

It was Vicious.

Pale skin, silver hair, dark grey eyes… Faye's heart hammered in her chest.

No. It wasn't possible. Vicious was dead. She had made sure he was dead when she and Jet found Spike sprawled on the stairs. She had verified that Vicious was dead. She would have shot him in the head otherwise. Vicious was dead, so who the hell was this man? Throwing a couple of woolongs on the counter, Faye ran out of the building. She didn't want Spike to see him and get crazy ideas.

Was she too late?


	5. Session 29: Nothing Changes II

He paced the darkened room, hands clasped behind his back.

"So Vicious is dead" he said calmly.

"Y-yes sir" a man said nervously.

"How?" Nemesis asked.

"He was murdered" the man replied.

Of course. It was just like his brother to get himself killed.

"By who?" Nemesis asked.

"Spike. Spike Spiegel" the man answered, clearing his throat.

"And the Red Dragon is no more?" Nemesis asked, turning his pale gaze upon the man.

"That's right. Vicious got rid of The Van and… well… Spiegel killed Vicious and disappeared" the man explained.

Well, at least Vicious did something right. He had gotten rid of The Van and their plan could still continue.

"Who is Spike Spiegel?" Nemesis asked coldly, turning away. He looked out the window into the falling rain.

"He used to be a Red Dragon member. One of the very best, set to take over one day" the man explained.

"I see" Nemesis said. So Spike Spiegel murdered his brother and was a potential rock in his shoe. He'd have to take care of him sooner or later. "Gather everyone, Manolo. Today marks the birth of the Black Dragon"

"Everyone, sir?" Manolo asked, swallowing hard.

Nemesis turned his steely gaze upon the man and walked to him. He grabbed Manolo's head with his hand and gently pulled him close, breathing down his neck.

"_EVERYONE_!" he shouted suddenly.

Manolo ran out of the room in terror.

* * *

Spike took a cigarette and lit it. He was wondering where everyone was, when suddenly Faye came in through the circular entrance.

"Oh" she said when she saw him. He was shirtless, a white towel around his neck. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well, you know, I live here" Spike answered casually, taking a drag from his cigarette. Faye pursed her lips.

"Where's Jet?" she asked instead.

"I think Jet is working on the Hammerhead" Spike replied. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing really" Faye said, licking her lips. "Listen, did you watch Big Shot today?" she asked the lanky man before her.

"No. I was working out" Spike answered. "Why? Anything good?"

"I don't know" Faye said truthfully. She _didn't _know how the news that someone who looked identical to Vicious had escaped from prison would affect Spike, so she didn't mention it. She really wanted to discuss it with Jet.

"So where are all your bags?" Spike asked.

"Huh?" Faye said stupidly.

"Jet said you went shopping but you're not carrying a hundred bags, like usual" Spike said with a wry smile.

"Oh… well… I didn't get around to shopping much" she answered. "Just had a milkshake at the Funky Monkey"

"Why didn't you take me with you?!" Spike demanded. "I love that place!"

"Is that right? Maybe you just wanted to see Maddy" Faye retorted.

"Jealous, my dear?" Spike teased.

"In your dreams" Faye shot back. With that, she left the lounging area and set out to look for Jet.

She found him right where Spike said he was.

"Jet" she said, nudging his foot with her boot.

"What?" he grunted from under the Hammerhead.

"We need to talk" she said.

In one swift motion, Jet rolled out from under his zip craft and looked at her quizzically.

"Look, if you need to unload your feminine burdens onto someone, please don't come to me" he began.

"What? Don't be stupid" Faye said, crossing her arms over her chest, her eyebrow twitching.

"I'm just sayin'" Jet said as he wiped his hands on an old rag. "What is it then?"

"You didn't catch today's broadcast of Big Shot either?" she asked.

"No, I've been working on my baby for a while" Jet said, scratching his head. "Why?"

"Well… there's a bounty" Faye said slowly.

"And?" Jet asked.

"A guy escaped from Adonis" Faye said.

"What? That's impossible!" Jet exclaimed. Faye nodded.

"Yeah, the ISSP is probably tearing their hair out as we speak" she said, leaning against the wall.

"Who? How much is the bounty" Jet asked.

"Bounty is for 900 million" Faye said. Jet whistled in amazement.

"Damn, must be a really big gun" he said.

"Maybe you know him," Faye said, "his name is Nemesis"

Jet took a moment to think.

"Nope. Don't know him. I know about him, but I never saw his face. He was caught while I was still a cop, but it was a different unit that caught him. He was pretty dangerous from what I recall" Jet said.

"Jet… he looks just like Vicious" Faye said.

"What? What do you mean?" Jet asked, confused.

"Exactly what I said. It's like Vicious is back from the dead" Faye replied. "I thought I was seeing a ghost when I saw his picture on TV today" she added.

"It can't be Vicious. Vicious is dead" Jet said firmly.

"I know that. But this man… I don't know. It's unnerving the way he looks just like him" Faye said quietly, hugging herself.

"Well, don't go telling Spike" Jet warned.

"I know that!" Faye said irritably. "Do you think I don't know how that lunkhead would take it?"

"Take what?" Spike said from the doorway.

"Speak of the devil" Jet muttered.

"Nothing, nosey" Faye said, rolling her eyes at him.

"If you're gonna talk about me, at least tell me what you're saying" Spike said, annoyed.

"All good things, my friend. All good things" Jet said, patting the tall man's shoulder as he walked past him and out of the room. Faye glared at Jet's back as he left her alone with Spike.

"So there, see?" Faye said bravely, attempting to walk past Spike as well. He blocked her path. "Move, Spike" she said irritably.

"There's something you're not telling me" he said.

"No there isn't" she said dismissively.

"Then tell me what you and Jet were talking about" Spike demanded.

"Nothing important" she said, looking away from his mismatched eyes.

"Liar" Spike said.

"Go ask Jet" Faye said, trying to push past him.

"I would but he's kind of hard to bully" Spike said with a lopsided grin.

"What a jerk! I'm not gonna let you bully me either!" Faye snapped. She shoved his chest playfully.

"You wanna fight, Miss Valentine?" he said, raising his fists in front of him and dancing on the balls of his feet. Faye rolled her eyes.

"Your martial arts tricks aren't gonna work on me" she said, suppressing a smile.

"Why not?" he asked, and in an instant, his hand darted forward and he poked her belly, making her recoil with a giggle.

"Stop it, Spike!" she said.

"Stop what?" he asked as he moved closer to her. Again, his hand darted forward and he poked her, making her giggle once more.

"Stop it!" she demanded, covering her belly with her arms.

"But you said my tricks weren't gonna work" he said as his hands darted forward, one after the other, poking her every time she tried to cover his attacks. She was laughing now, trying to get away.

"Stop!" she whined as he kept tickling her. "Ugh, you're so obnoxious!" she said as she finally caught his wrist in her hand. "Go away!" she roared. She pushed him away and he laughed. She made to leave the room but without warning, she turned on Spike and jumped on his back, wrapping her arm around his neck, holding him in a headlock. "How do you like that, huh?!" she said as Spike tried pulling her off his back. "Not so tough now, are you?!" she said triumphantly.

"You crazy woman!" Spike choked as he stumbled all over the room with Faye on his back. He tripped and they both stumbled backwards. They bumped into a wall and that made Faye let go of him as they slid to the floor. "You wanna play dirty?" he asked with a grin.

"No!" she squealed as he took both of her wrists in his one of his and pinned her to the ground. With his free hand, he began to tickle her again. "Stop, Spike! Knock it off! Stop it!" she shrieked with laughter as she squirmed, struggling to get away from him.

"Not until you say Spike is King" he said.

"Never!" she gasped.

"Say Spike is my master" he said as he continued to tickle her mercilessly.

"No!" she cried stubbornly.

"Say it!"

"Never!"

Somehow, she managed to free herself and they wrestled on the floor. She rolled on top of him and pinned his arms above his head as she straddled his chest.

"You're gonna pay for that, Spiegel!" she said with an evil look on her face. She snorted, trying to form the biggest, nastiest loogie of her life. "Say, I'm sorry Faye, you're my goddess" she mumbled as she slowly let the spit dangle over his face.

"Gross! You're disgusting, Romani!" Spike said, turning away.

"Say it, Spiegel, or I'm letting go of it" she said, slurping it back up before letting dangle over his face again.

"Alright, alright! Faye, you're my goddess" Spike said.

At that precise moment, Jet walked in. He stood rooted to the spot as he took in the scene before him:

Spike on the floor, pinned by Faye who was straddling the lanky man's chest. Faye dangling spit over her victim's face. Spike crying out something about a goddess.

"I have no comment" Jet said before turning away and returning from whence he came.

Faye scuttled off of Spike, one hand over her mouth. She gagged before running out of the workshop, no doubt heading to the bathroom to rid herself of the monstrous spit wad she had formed. Spike chuckled to himself. He strolled into the lounging area, hands clasped behind his head. He plopped down on the yellow couch and stretched his long leg so he could turn the TV on with his foot.

"… folks, this man is dangerous. If you have any information or have sighted him anywhere, do not engage. Call the ISSP immediately and avoid him" the reporter was saying. The scene changed and they showed a picture of a man; a man that was supposed to be dead.

Spike's heart raced and memories came flooding back.

Vicious.

Vicious was alive.

Vicious was back.

His nightmare played like a film in his head.

Is that what it meant? Was it a warning from Julia?

But Vicious was dead. Jet and Faye confirmed it… right?

At that moment, Faye walked in and she clasped both hands to her mouth as she saw the picture on TV.

"Spike—" she began, but he cut her off.

"Shut up" he growled. Faye bit her lip. "You lied to me. You said Vicious was dead."

He turned to face her and her breath caught in her chest. His eyes were livid.

Faye shook her head, her eyes wide.

"You're wrong. We didn't lie to you" she said, taking a step forward.

"Then who the hell is that?!" Spike thundered, jumping to his feet, advancing towards the young girl.

"I don't know" she said quietly.

"Don't act stupid. We both know exactly who that is!" Spike roared.

The commotion made Jet reappear.

"Hey, what's going on now?" he asked. Spike glared at him.

"Why did you tell me Vicious was dead?" he asked in a dangerous voice.

"Because he is" Jet said, crossing his arms over his chest, undaunted.

"I just saw the news and he's alive!" Spike roared, not understanding why his comrades were lying to him.

"First of all, you need to lower your voice" Jet began calmly. "Second, we are _not _lying to you. Vicious is dead. Thirdly, we are _not _your enemies, Spike. We have no reason to lie to you." There was something intimidating in the quiet way Jet spoke that made Faye feel like Spike was about to cross an invisible line.

Apparently Spike felt it too as he took a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair. "So who is that guy?" he asked evenly, plopping down on the couch again. With a curt nod, Jet walked to the yellow chair and sat across from Spike.

"That man's name is Nemesis. Or at least, that's what he is known as. He was apprehended and sent to Adonis six years ago. He escaped recently" Jet explained. Faye took a deep breath, thankful that Jet was taking matters in his own hands. Had she been left to handle it, she and Spike would probably have had another dogfight.

"That looks like Vicious" Spike said stubbornly, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Good God, man, use your head for once!" Jet snapped. "I'm sure there's a brain under all that fuzz" he added. Faye suppressed a laugh.

"Really" she said. "This guy _can't _ be Vicious. Vicious was not in jail, was he? He wasn't in Adonis when you… when he died, right? He was free six years ago and remained free all his life" Faye said, kicking herself mentally.

Spike knew they were right. He was being stupid. He felt guilty for the way he had acted.

"You're right. I'm sorry" he mumbled, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.

"Must be a brother" Jet suggested.

"Of course. It must be his twin" Faye said.

"Vicious never mentioned a brother" Spike said.

"But really… how much did you know about Vicious?" Jet asked.

Spike sighed. "Not a goddamn thing, apparently"

"Spike… you're not getting any ideas, are you?" Fay asked.

"No" he answered flatly, getting to his feet. He left the room without another word, leaving Jet and Faye looking at each other with concern.

* * *

**A/N: **_So what do you guys think? I was inspired about Vicious having a twin by watching a movie called Ca$h lol. And of course, the opening scene to this chapter is a sort of homage to one of my favorite movies, Leon: The Professional. (Faye Valentine herself is a homage to Mathilda from the same movie, Watanabe said!) If you haven't watched it, do so. It's such a great movie. Leave me your thoughts and reviews! _


	6. Session 30: Pennies from Heaven

"Are you sure you want to go with me?" Faye asked Spike.

"Yup" he said simply, shrugging into his blue coat.

"Well good. You're carrying the bags then" she said with a smug smile on her face.

Jet had sent them off to buy groceries before they were to set off for their next destination: Jupiter. While it wasn't Faye's favorite planet to dock in (too many memories), they were going for a decent bounty that had popped up. The days had become gray and gloomy on Mars so they were all glad to be getting a move on. They hated being stuck in one place for too long, anyway.

"I'm gonna stop at the boutique for a minute before we get groceries" Faye said, stretching her arms above her head.

"What?! What for?!" Spike asked.

"Clothes, space cowboy. What else can we buy at a boutique?" Faye said cheerfully.

"That's not what I came here for!" Spike grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Oh, Spike, quit whining! A man like you can't be afraid of a little shopping, right?" Faye said, elbowing him.

"I'm afraid I'll die of boredom" Spike replied, elbowing her back.

"Well you can give me your opinion on some outfits then, so you're not bored" she said happily.

"We can't take hours in there, Jet will get mad" Spike pointed out in hopes of making Faye reconsider the torture she was about to subject him to.

"Jet won't be mad if we bring him some Johnnie Walker" she said smugly. Spike groaned. He knew she was right; Johnnie Walker was Jet's favorite whisky.

As soon they reached the boutique, Spike found himself a nice, plump seat and grabbed a magazine from the side table. The man sitting next to him grinned and gave him sympathetic shrug in understanding. Faye walked around the small store and chose a couple of items from the racks.

"Hey Spike, what do you think?" she called out to him from the dressing room a few minutes later.

"Let me see" Spike said, tossing the magazine back on the table. Faye walked out and he rolled his eyes. She was wearing a blue suit, almost identical to his. "Very funny, Faye" he said as she laughed and returned to the dressing room. He pulled out a cigarette and a young, pretty girl made a beeline for him.

"Oh, no, sir, I'm afraid there's no smoking inside the boutique!" she chirped, giving him a bright smile. She was cute alright.

"Of course. My bad" Spike said, stuffing the cigarette back into his pocket. She walked back behind the register, shooting him flirtatious glances every now and then with her come-hither eyes. Spike smiled to himself. He got to his feet and walked over to the counter.

"Mind giving me your name, doll?" he said with his most charming smile.

"Oh," the young woman said, lowering her blue eyes and then looking back at him. She had practiced this many times before, Spike was sure. "It's Diana" she said sweetly, a rosy tinge spreading across her porcelain cheeks. She shyly placed a strand of brown hair behind her ear.

"Pretty name" he said, leaning against the counter. "Maybe we should go on a date" he said casually. At that moment, Faye stepped out of the dressing room again.

She was wearing an oversized, off-the-shoulder grey sweater, tight, black leather pants and black high heels. Spike couldn't stop staring and then slapped himself mentally and he forced his eyes to stay focused on Diana.

"So what do you say?" he asked. Diana giggled.

"Oh, I don't know, mister, I don't even know _your_ name" she said, giving him a seductive smile. Faye stomped over to them.

"Spike! I told you I needed your opinion!" she said, oblivious to the brunette who was glaring at her with envy. "What do you think?" she said, spreading her arms and turning in a circle once.

"You look good, Romani" Spike said easily, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I think so too, I think I'll take it" Faye said. Only when Diana cleared her throat did Faye notice her. "Oh," the bounty hunter said, "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" she asked acidly looking from the girl back to Spike.

"Not at all, Faye. Was just getting acquainted with this lovely young lady" Spike said, giving Diana another smile. The silly chit giggled and blushed prettily.

"I see" Faye said, pursing her lips. Shaking her head, she walked back to the dressing room. She could hear the girl laughing at whatever it was Spike was saying. _That lunkhead_, she thought, _one day he's gonna get into a lot of trouble over a woman… again_. She didn't know why it suddenly bothered her to see him flirting with other girls. It was Spike… he was a natural charmer. She had seen him in action plenty of times, wooing girls at bars or wherever he was. Well, at least he did all his sleeping around outside the Bebop. While Jet had never expressly stated that they were forbidden from bringing anyone to the Bebop for a quick romp, it was still a sort of unspoken rule they all adhered to, even Jet. No, they did all their rolling in the sheets in hotel rooms. Faye sighed and draped the clothes over her arms before stepping out again to pay up. Spike was leaning over the counter, and so was Diana. Where they kissing?! Faye inhaled slowly. No, they weren't kissing, they were whispering to each other, Diana giggling every now and then.

"I'm ready" Faye said curtly.

"Oh, yes, of course ma'am" Diana said, straightening up and fixing her blouse that had somehow slipped lower down her cleavage. Faye resisted the urge to scoff. "That will be seventy five thousand woolongs" Diana said. Faye took out her electronic money card and handed it to the girl. "Thank you so much for your purchase, miss" Diana said.

"Hmm" Faye replied, grabbing her bags and walking away.

"Bye Spike… see you soon" Diana chirped.

Moments later, Spike came up next Faye… _strutting_. He clasped his hands behind his head and grinned down at her, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Something bothering you, Faye?" he teased.

Faye raised her eye brow. "What could possibly be bothering me, Spiegel?" she asked casually.

"I don't know… you tell me" he said. Faye rolled her eyes.

"You're an idiot" she said.

They reached the grocery store and quickly grabbed everything that Jet had jotted down on a list.

"Ok, we got everything I think" Faye said, running her finger down the paper. "Now we just need the whisky"

"We're not gonna find it here" Spike said.

"I know that" Faye snapped. Spike raised his eyebrows.

She wanted to get away from him. At that very moment, he was annoying her for no particular reason. Pushing the cart, she left the obnoxious man behind.

"I thought you wanted me to carry the bags, Valentine" Spike said, taking most of the plastic bags from her hands once she had paid.

"Hurry! I don't want my new clothes to get wet!" Faye said. Tiny, cold rain drops where beginning to fall. She started to half-run, half-walk as fast as the bags would allow her. They passed by the boutique again and Faye turned her nose up at it. She wouldn't shop there ever again, thank you.

Then they hear it: a gunshot, a scream, and the crash of breaking glass. The bounty hunters wheeled around and saw the man that had been sitting next to Spike at the boutique earlier run out of the building, followed closely by a woman. Their arms were laden with clothes and shoes. Diana came running after them, yelling at the police over the telephone in her hand.

The robbers ran straight at Faye and Spike and, without missing a beat, the lanky man swung the grocery bags with full force. He hit the man across the face, making him crash into the wall of the building.

"You asshole!" the woman shrieked, lunging herself at Spike. Faye was faster and she swung her own bags at the woman, making her fall backwards. "Get the hell out of our way! What's it to you?!" the woman shrieked.

"You fuckers are bounty hunters!" the man spluttered, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"That's right" Spike said, pulling out his Jericho.

"Don't shoot, man!" the robber pleaded, raising his hands in front of him in surrender. The familiar sound of the police sirens was heard and they pulled up moments later.

"Good job, guys. These petty thieves have been robbing boutiques and selling the clothes underground" a police officer said as he handcuffed the man and the crying woman.

"Here's your reward" another cop said, taking Faye's card and scanning it. "One hundred and fifty thousand big ones" he said, winking at her. Faye gave him her best smile.

"Thank you officer. Always nice doing my civic duty" she said. The cop blushed and helped his partner load the robbers into the police ship. Spike scoffed, turning to Faye.

"Civic duty? More like greedy duty" he said. "I'm getting half of that money"

Faye rolled her eyes. "Yeah, alright" she said.

Diana walked up to Spike and threw her arms around his neck. "My hero!" she squealed and before he knew what was happening, she kissed his lips. Faye was furious.

"We gotta get going, lover boy!" she snapped. Diana released him and smiled.

"See you, space cowboy" she winked at Spike. Spike winked back before turning to face Faye, a goofy grin on his face. She glared at him.

"We have no time for your booty calls" she snapped. Spike gave a fake gasp.

"Booty calls? Why I'd never!" he said in mock innocence.

"Whatever" Faye said.

* * *

"What took you guys so long?!" Jet thundered as soon as the two bounty hunters walked into the Bebop.

"Calm down, we had a bit of good luck" Faye said, walking into the kitchen, Spike right behind her.

"What do you mean good luck?" Jet asked, following them.

"Well, the plan was to get you some whisky… but we got a small bounty instead" Spike answered. He placed the groceries on the counter. Faye began to put them away in the metal pantry.

"Is that right?" Jet asked, crossing his arms.

"Yup. One hundred and fifty thousand big ones" Faye said.

"Huh. Why am I never that lucky?" Jet asked without expecting an answer.

"It's me. I bring all the good luck" Faye said, putting the last of the groceries away.

"Yeah right, More like you're the reason we have such bad luck" Jet scoffed.

"Hey!" Faye pouted as Spike laughed and patted the big man's shoulder. "That's not very nice!"

Suddenly, there was a beep from their TV, a lot of white noise, and then a familiar voice.

"Earth to Bebop!" it said. It sounded small and far, far away, but it was unmistakable. The three bounty hunters looked at each other for a split second before they ran out of the kitchen, each scrambling over the chair, couch and table to get to the TV first.

"Beeeeeeee-bop!" the small voice said again. Faye, Jet and Spike each crowded the TV, bonking their heads together in the process.

"ED?!" they all said in unison.

* * *

**A/N: **_Thanks for the reviews, guys! It makes me happy that there are still a few of us out there writing and reading Bebop! Leave me your thoughts and reviews!_


	7. Session 31: Blackened Roots

The Bebop crew was gathered at the lounging area. They were headed for Earth now instead of Jupiter like they had planned. A certain red-haired hacker had contacted them earlier in the day, asking to see them.

To be honest, Faye never thought she'd see the wild child again. Ed and Ein had left on the same day she had gone looking for her past. By the time Faye realized where her home truly was and returned to the Bebop, Ed had gone… and Spike was leaving. It had broken her heart to know that two of the most important people in her life (because the Bebopers _were _important to her, even if she didn't allow herself to show it very often) were gone, never to be seen again. She had trembled from the inside out just thinking about Spike dying and the Bebop family torn apart forever.

Faye shuddered and hugged herself.

She didn't know if she would have been able to handle living with Jet, both of them alone on the ship that had suddenly felt endless, empty, and cold. But, stubborn as they both were, she and Jet had set out right after Spike and found him on the brink of death. The lunkhead had pulled through, and things had gone back to normal… more or less. Now they were on their way to see Ed again; the missing piece was possibly coming back. It was like a family reunion. Faye realized that the one who had suffered the blow of Ed leaving the most had been Jet. He and Ed had grown very fond of each other, and Faye knew Jet thought of the little hacker as a daughter of sorts. And why not? Sure, Jet was the kind of guy that checked out all the "babes" and went out for drinks and a quickie whenever they docked somewhere; he was a man after all. But he was also the type of man who longed to take care of someone; it was in his nature. He had wanted to take care of Alisa, his ex, which ultimately drove her away. He would probably take care of Faye if she wasn't so independent and a pain in the ass for him. And Spike too. Hell, in a way, Jet _did _take care of her and Spike. He was always getting them out of trouble, fixing their zip crafts, cooking for them… giving his advice whenever possible. He would rip them a new one if they messed up too badly. It was like he longed for a family… and she couldn't blame him, she did too. And she knew Spike and Ed did as well. They were just a bunch of broken people tossed together on the Bebop but they completed each other; a perfectly dysfunctional family. And if Ed returned now, the Bebop would be complete once more.

"Twenty minutes before we reach Earth" Jet called out from the kitchen.

Faye sighed. Spike, like usual, was hogging the yellow couch.

"What are you reading anyway?" she asked him.

"A classic" he said, not taking his eyes off the book.

"What classic?" Faye asked.

"A good one" Spike replied. Faye pursed her lips. He could be so obnoxious sometimes.

"Well scoot over, stop hogging the couch" she said, slapping his boots off the seat. Before she could sit down, however, Spike had returned his long legs to the couch. "Spike! Scoot over!" Faye said.

"No. I was here first" he said, still not taking his eyes off his book. "There's a chair right over there anyway" he added, flipping the page.

"It isn't as comfortable as the couch. It hurts my butt if I sit there for too long" Faye said, tapping her foot.

"Not my problem" Spike said, finally peering at her over the book.

"Fine" Faye said, and with that, she sat on Spike's stomach, crossing one long leg over the other.

"Damn Faye, have you been gaining weight?" Spike gasped, setting his book down.

Faye chose to ignore his question with dignity. She pulled out her nail file and began to work on her nails.

"Come on Faye, get off me" Spike breathed.

"No" she said.

"I said _get off_ woman" Spike said and effortlessly pushed her off him, making her land on her bottom on the cold, metal floor.

"Spike!" she roared.

"That's what you get" he said smugly.

"And this is what _you_ get!" Faye said, punching him in the stomach. It wasn't hard, but Spike doubled over and groaned in apparent agony.

"You witch of a woman!" he gasped. He was faking it, she knew, but it still gave her a sense of satisfaction.

"Entering Earth's orbit now" Jet said as he came to sit in front of the Bebop's controls. The familiar turbulence as they entered Earth's atmosphere began to shake the ship slightly. Minutes later they had entered planet earth and were cruising across the blue sky.

"She said she'd be where we first found her" Jet said. Faye got to her feet and went to look out the window.

"Remember when we first met her? She was like a wild animal" she said, remember the crazy red-haired child.

"Yup. And she hacked into the Bebop because you didn't want to keep your promise" Spike said, standing next to her. Faye glared at him.

"Good thing we accepted her into our crew," Jet added, coming to stand at Faye's other side, "we caught more bounties with her help than ever before. Chalk it up to one good idea from Faye"

"Ha ha, so funny" Faye said, glaring at Jet too, but she smiled ruefully nonetheless. The communicator came alive with white noise.

"Bebop! Over here! Bebop! I see you! Over here, over here!" said Ed's sweet voice. Jet, Spike and Faye pressed their noses against the window, trying to locate the girl.

Sure enough, she was atop the rocky cliff, Ein running in circles around her. She was waving at them with her long, skinny arm, the Tomato on her head.

"There she is" Spike said.

"Wow, she looks different" Faye stated. Slowly, the Bebop came to a halt at the rocky beach.

"Well, it's been a year since we last saw her, of course she's going to be a little different" Jet said. And she _was_ different. A little, anyway. She was a little taller than the last time they had seen her, and her hair was a little longer… it brushed her shoulders ever so slightly, though it was still as unruly as ever. Gone was the sleeveless, white shirt; replaced by an oversized, plain grey tee. Her black spandex shorts where gone too, and now she wore black leggings. At least she was still barefoot and she still wore her goggles atop her head.

"Yay! Bebop is here! They came for Edward and Ein!" the wild child squealed in delight as the crew stepped out of the ship. She jumped on to Jet, wrapping her skinny arms around his neck. "Jet-person!" She then jumped onto Spike's back, wrapping her arms and legs around his torso. "Spike-person!" Then she jumped off Spike and hugged Faye's smooth leg, rubbing her cheek on it. "Faye-Faye!" All the while Ein was barking happily around them. "Ed and Ein missed you very much!" she said.

"Ed, where's your father?" Jet asked.

"The father-person is still chasing falling stars. He forgot Edward again, but that's ok. Edward… Edward wants to stay with the Bebop, right Ein?"

The data dog barked once in agreement.

"Won't your father mind, though?" Faye asked. Edward shook her head.

"Nope. He forgot Ed again. He likes chasing stars but Ed is tired of chasing stars. The father-person knows how to contact Ed if he needs anything anyway" Ed said.

"Well, if you're sure…" Jet said, scratching his head.

"Yeah!" Ed said happily, and waving her skinny arms in the air, she ran inside the Bebop.

"We better get going then. We'll refill here on earth and then head to Jupiter. If we have any luck, we may still be able to catch our bounty" Jet said.

"Alright… let's get to it then" Spike said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked up at the Bebop and smiled as the tiny pinwheel that he and Jet had attached to the ship glinted in the sun.

* * *

She ran her fingers through his now raven-black hair. He had his arms wrapped around her slender waist, face pressed between her breasts. His hair was still damp, little beads of water falling from the tips.

"You look good with black hair" she murmured. She pulled away from him and cupped his face in her hand. "I missed you"

"And I you" he said, his silver eyes boring into hers. She bent down to kiss his lips.

With one swift movement, he scooped her up in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He placed her gently on the bed and pushed her pencil skirt up as far as it would go. He began to unbutton her silk blouse, trailing kisses down her neck.

She whimpered as he removed her blouse.

"Johanna" he breathed, burying his face against her long, red hair.

"Nemesis, take me now" she demanded. He growled deep in his throat, more than happy to oblige…

Later, as they lay in bed, Johanna stared at the ceiling. He was sleeping peacefully next to her, and he looked so innocent. But she knew the truth. This was a dangerous man; a cold blooded killer. He could kill her in an instant if he so wished and she knew he probably wouldn't regret it. She wondered how on earth she had fallen in love with a ruthless murderer and then smiled to herself. Well, she was exactly the same, wasn't she? Birds of a feather stick together and all that. She could kill him right here, right now and he'd never know what had happened. But she wouldn't. She feared him, but she also respected him. And she loved him, too. No, she wouldn't kill him… all she could do was hope that maybe one day they would leave all this behind and disappear into the stars, never looking back.

* * *

"You know my rules, Alfonso. No women, no children" the tall man said in a deep, slow voice. He wore black; black cargo pants, black military boots, a black bulletproof vest over a simple, black knit sweater. He wore a black beanie over his brown hair.

"But Ramesses, you know this job is worth a pretty woolong! Thirty five million for his head alone! You can't give up on it now!" Alfonso said.

"No women, no children, no exceptions. This car the target will be riding in will be full of women and children. I do not accept the job… besides, that's only ten million more woolongs than I usually ask for" Ramesses said.

Just then, the waiter arrived with their food. Ramesses began to eat with gusto.

"Damn it Ramesses, why can't you just do the damned job?!" Alfonso raged as he forked spaghetti into his mouth.

"I won't take the lives of innocents" the man answered.

"Fine. And if we set him up in a place devoid of women and children?" Alfonso asked, looking at Ramesses hopefully.

"If he's alone with his cronies, I'll be more than happy to help" he said, taking a long drink from his glass of water. Alfonso's face broke into a wide grin.

"That's my boy! I'll have him ready. I'll have the details in two days… should I call you?" the fat man asked.

"No. I'll call you" Ramesses said, throwing a few woolongs on the table. "As always, great food you have here, Alfonso" he said as he began to walk away.

"Ramesses… just get the job done before any cowboys catch him. He's worth more dead than alive" Alfonso said to the man's retreating back. Ramesses waved a hand in acknowledgement and was soon out of sight.

* * *

**A/N: **_First, I want to thank you all for your reviews! It makes me happy that I am making a fic that keeps you all entertained. _

_I hope you enjoy this chapter and the new characters that were introduced! Also... I'm not sure how you feel about lemons so I didn't go into any details, but let me know if it's something you are comfortable with or if I should just leave it as hints lol. _


	8. Session 31 Point 5: False Alarms

**A/N: **_Hi guys! Sorry I haven't updated for a while but I was a little busy. I wanted to let you all know that I will be re-reading this fic and fixing any typos, inconsistencies, and general errors I may find. This is what happens when you decide writing a chapter at 4 am and publishing it hot off the press is a good idea lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

As the T.V. went blank, Jet and Edward remained still, Ein curled up between them on the couch, whimpering.

"That… was…" Jet began, staring at the blank screen.

"SCARY!" Edward screeched, scooping Ein into her arms. "Ed is scared! Ed doesn't like being scared!" she said, burying her face against the pup's fur.

"It's alright, Ed, it was just a movie" Jet said, rubbing his bald head. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Ed shook her head, face still hidden against Ein. "I want Faye-Faye and Spike-person to come back already" she said in a muffled voice.

"Well, who knows when those two will be back. The girl is off at the casino and Spike is probably somewhere he shouldn't" Jet grumbled, getting to his feet. "It's late anyway, so we should just go to sleep. Try not to think about the movie ok? It's not real… there's nothing to—" but he was cut off by a weird noise somewhere on the Bebop. Ed squealed in terror. Jet's heart hammered in his chest. He looked down the passage that lead to the rooms and suddenly the Bebop seemed like a never-ending black abyss. What was this nonsense? He wasn't afraid… it was just a movie. The noise was just normal creaking from the old ship. He _wasn't _afraid. But Ed was… she had buried her head under Ein's belly, holding him like a neck pillow.

"Come on Ed, it was nothing. The Bebop is an old ship, sometimes she clangs like that… you know that" he said. But was he trying to convince the girl or himself? It was ridiculous. He was a grown man. It was just a stupid movie. There was nothing to be afraid of. _Nothing_. Clearing his throat, he walked away. "Good night Ed" he said firmly as he made his way to his bonsai room.

"Good night Jet-person… don't let the alien catch you…" Ed whispered after him.

"Really. It was a movie about killer aliens. That's all. Why, it was so fake it's almost laughable" Jet grumbled to himself as he looked around for the shears.

Suddenly, there was loud clanging noise outside the ship again and Ed shrieked in terror. Jet ran out of the room to see what had happened with the young girl. He found her trembling and hiding behind the yellow chair.

"Ed! What is it? What's wrong?!"

"It's the alien man! He's here, Jet-person! He's here! He's gonna eat us!" she said, her amber eyes as round as saucers. Ein whimpered next to her.

Jet sighed. "Now, Ed. You know that can't be true. They aren't real. Aliens don't exist. The movie we saw was just for entertain—" but then the communicator cut him off. It was only static until suddenly, there was broken speech.

"_I'm… coming…"_ it said in a garbled, distorted voice. It sent chills up Jet's spine and Ed whimpered. Jet grabbed the communicator.

"Who the hell is this?!" he roared. Nothing but white noise was his answer.

"It's the alien monster man… you heard him Jet-person. He's coming… he's outside trying to get in" Ed whispered from behind the seat.

"Nonsense. Ed, wait right here" Jet said. He went to his room and grabbed his Walther P99 and made his way back to the lounge. "Now we'll wait" he said as he sat on the couch. Ed crawled from behind the seat and slithered over onto the yellow couch next to Jet.

"Spoooooky. The boogie-woogie alien is going to eeeaaat us" she sang. Jet grumbled to himself, crossing his arms over his chest.

Minutes later, the communicator went off again.

"_The… door now... going... to kill…_" it said ominously and then it cut off.

"Who the hell is this?!" Jet shouted into the comm. No response except the loud clanging outside the Bebop. "Someone is just trying to prank call us," the big man said, "they're trying to scare us. I'm going to check outside to see what's going on"

"No! Jet-person, don't go! It's the scary monster alien thing that's going to kill us!" Ed said, clinging to Jet's leg, looking around in fright. "Remember the movie!"

"Stop it" Jet said firmly. "Nobody is going to kill us" But the wild child clung tighter still.

"Don't go. Don't get eaten" she said.

Jet sighed heavily. "Let's get some sleep, then. In the morning, we're going to feel really silly about all of this. I'll sleep on this couch and you can sleep on that chair with Ein."

Edward nodded and jumped across the center table and onto the yellow chair, Ein scurrying along after her. She curled up into a ball and closed her eyes.

"Nighty-night, Jet-person" she yawned.

"Good night, Ed" Jet answered.

Soon after, Jet heard Ed's easy breathing, signaling that she had finally fallen asleep. Jet's eyes were beginning to droop when he heard the strange clanging noises yet again and the communicator turned on.

"_I'm… here… I'm…_" and then it shut off.

"No! He's here! He's here! Jet-person! We're gonna die!" Edward said dramatically. The noise had woken her and now she was running around the lounge, arms flailing over her head, Ein barking in her wake.

"Stop, it Ed!" Jet thundered, but Ed ignored him and ran into the kitchen. There was banging on the metal walls again and he heard the door to the Bebop open. Jet cocked his gun and ran up the short flight of steps and pressed himself against the wall. Whoever came in through that door was going to get their brains blasted.

The door to the lounge opened and at that exact moment, Ed came crashing in from the kitchen, shrieking her head off in a battle cry. The screaming made Jet jump in surprise and he dropped his gun which fired a shot that ricocheted off the metal walls inside the Bebop. Jet cursed. Ein barked. Ed howled as she jumped high in the air, a heavy iron skillet in her hands. She swung with all her might at the intruder as he stepped inside. However, the intruder had tripped over the step as he crawled in through the door, landing on his knees with a grunt. Ed missed his head completely, striking the metal wall instead. Her whole body reverberated with the impact. The intruder groaned, sounding like a zombie, before he sat up.

"Why the _hell_ are you two trying to kill me?" he asked, rubbing his face.

"Spike, you dumb ass!" Jet roared angrily. "Why the hell are _you _prank calling us?!"

Spike looked up at the burly man through bleary eyes. "Huh?" he asked stupidly.

"Spiky-Spike! You said you were going to kill us!" Ed squealed in delight, jumping onto Spike's back. "What a silly!" she added.

"I never said that" Spike groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"So it wasn't you who called us through the communicator?!" Jet roared, unable to forgive his friend just yet.

"I did… it was me," Spike began, "but I never said I was going to kill you. I clearly said _you_ were going to kill _me _because I broke the communicator. I spilled beer on it… and now it breaks up when I use it." He closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep, clearly drunk out of his mind. Ed sniffed him and wrinkled her nose.

"Spike-person smells funny" she said.

"But why were you clanging around outside?" Jet asked.

But Spike's head had rolled back and he started to snore.

"Spike-person, wake up!" Ed giggled, grabbing both of Spike's cheeks and pulling them as far as she could.

"I was… trying to find the door…" Spike mumbled. "I tried to tell you… that I… was coming… so you could… open… the door and let me in" and that was all he said before he slumped forward in a stupor. Edward giggled.

"See, Jet-person? I told you there was nothing to be afraid of!" she said happily. "Shame-shame on you! It was just a movie!"

"What?!" Jet roared.

Just then, Faye peered through the circular door where Spike, Ed, Jet and Ein were gathered.

"Uh… what's going on?" she asked, stepping over Spike's sleeping form. "Never mind. I don't want to know" she said after a minute, taking the steps two at a time.

"I'm getting too old for this" Jet grumbled as he finally lay in bed. Honestly, these kids were a bigger pain in the ass than ever before.

But that was alright. He'd rather deal with imaginary aliens and drunken idiots and gambling chicks and crazy hackers than be on this ship by himself.


	9. Session 32: Old Devil Moon

Faye drummed her fingers on the wooden counter, her chin propped on her palm. She was bored out of her mind, but she knew she had to suck it up. This was the biggest bounty in a while, and if she played her part right, they would be able to nab him. Still, waiting for the man to appear was boring. The bartender asked if she wanted another drink which she declined. It would be no good to get drunk right before the big job. Suddenly the door to The Jack-O-Lantern opened; the tiny little bell above the door announcing a newcomer. Faye sighed and casually stretched her arms, peering through the corner of her eye at the person. It was a man. A very tall man, actually. He wore all black and immediately Faye was on the alert. This wasn't the common sleaze ball that frequented seedy little bars like this. No, this was an outsider, just like her. Could he be a bounty hunter? Was he dangerous? Was he here to cause trouble? Whatever the reason was, she didn't like it one bit. She wanted to leave the bar and avoid any trouble… she wasn't in the damn mood for it. She tossed a couple of woolongs on the counter and pushed herself to her feet. She was wearing her new outfit, the one she had bought with Spike, and she suddenly regretted her choice of shoes. These high heels were no help in case she needed to run after the bounty… or to save her life. Cursing her lack of judgment, she sashayed her way out of the bar, painfully aware of the stranger's eyes on her. But what else was new? Every pair of eyes in the room were focused on her; all belonging to smelly, dirty, old men. All, that is, except the tall stranger's. She allowed herself one quick glance at him. He was no longer looking at her. But from what she could tell under the dim light and smoky atmosphere, he was rather good-looking. His eyes suddenly looked up and caught hers. She froze in place, her hand on the door handle. Her breath hitched in her chest and she felt herself blushing when he offered her a slow smile. Scratch that. He was _very_ good-looking. She returned his smile and quickly stepped outside, the rush of cool air on her face giving her much needed relief.

"Who was that?" she asked herself, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "And why the hell hasn't Jet called me?" she fumed. As if on cue, her communicator rang.

"Hey, Faye, you there?" Jet asked.

"No, I'm not here" she said sarcastically. She was in an irritable mood and wanted everyone to share in her misery.

"Don't get salty with me. Listen, the bounty is headed your way. He should be rounding the corner in about three minutes; he's on foot with two other guys. Spike is on the roof to your right as back up. Don't mess this up" Jet said.

"Did you tell _Spike_ not to mess up?" she snapped.

"I'm here listening too, Faye. What's got you so sour?" Spike said, sounding as bored as she felt.

"Whatever your problem is, get it together. I see the guy coming. Get ready, you two" Jet said. Faye sighed and made sure she had her Glock easily accessible. Just in time, the bounty came around the corner, just like Jet had said he would. Faye slumped against the wall, her black hair covering her face. She had purposefully let it down today, and it served her well.

"Ow" she said loud enough for the men to hear. "Help… please" she said.

"Are you alright there?" one of the men asked.

"No… I need help. My boyfriend… he… beat me and left me stranded here" she said, her hair still covering her face.

"Sir?" she heard the man ask.

"Not my problem. Wench probably did something to deserve it. Besides, we have to get to—" but Faye cut him off.

"Please! I need help!" she said, staggering her way towards them. Immediately, two of the men pulled out their guns, aiming at Faye.

"Stay where you are, miss" one of them said.

"I… I need help" Faye whispered again. She began to cry, her shoulders shaking. _Gotcha,_ she though as soon as one of the men lowered his gun. Quick as lightning, she kicked the gun out his hand. The other man shot at her, missing her by an inch. She used all her strength to kick the guy's crotch, making him howl and double over in pain. Meanwhile, the bounty had started running away.

"I'm going in" Spike said through the comm.

"Shithead bounty hunting bitch!" the bounty yelled as he ran away. Faye kicked the groaning man in the face and was about to knock the other dunce out when the stranger from the bar stepped out. Without so much as a glance in her direction, he shot both bodyguards in the head.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Faye shouted, rounding on the man. He towered over her; her head barely reaching his shoulder.

"Stay" he commanded in a deep voice. Turning on his heel, he ran after the escaping bounty head.

"Like hell I will!" Faye snapped, running after both.

_Damn him_, Faye thought, _if William gets away I will murder him!_

But even from a distance, the stranger's intent was clear: he was going to kill her bounty.

"Oh no you don't!" Faye yelled, and she ran as fast as her heels would allow. Within seconds, she caught up to the stranger and she jumped on his back.

"What the hell are you doing, woman?!" the stranger barked. Still, he didn't miss a beat and continued running, Faye clinging to his back like a monkey.

"You're not killing my bounty" she snarled, wrapping her arm around the stranger's neck. They heard shots up ahead and Faye instinctively knew it was Spike. "Ha! Too bad for you, you giant jerk, Spike's got William now" she breathed. With a sudden movement, the stranger grabbed her arm and easily yanked her off of him. He tossed her aside like a rag doll, making her stumble. She managed to grab on to the lamp post and she glared at him through narrowed eyes.

"He's not yours to catch, ma'am" he said. "Stay here. You are in my way"

"_I'm_ in your way?!" Faye seethed. "I don't think so. Nobody asked you to come out of that seedy little bar back there and stick your nose where it doesn't need sticking!"

"Like I said, Feisty Pants, this man is not yours to catch" the stranger said, turning to look at her with a grin on his face.

And oh was he handsome.

His beanie had fallen off during the course of their struggle, revealing light brown hair that fell a little past his chin. Under the street lamp's light, she was able to see his beautiful face, and his hazel eyes made her heart flutter in her chest. He was taller than Jet, she could tell. His arms and chest made his shirt stretch just slightly with each movement… _Get a grip, Faye_, she scolded herself. She knew he realized she was checking him out when his grin widened. She pursed her lips.

"Don't call me Feisty Pants, _Mister_" she snapped. "Besides, I'm sure Spike already beat you to him." She stuck her nose in the air and sauntered away from the stranger.

"No ma'am. I don't think he did. Why, I see him coming back this way" the stranger said. Faye squinted and sure enough, William was running back towards them, Spike hot on his trail.

"Stay out of my way!" Faye said, and she began to run at the bounty. _Shoot to immobilize… a nice, big shot at the knee cap should do it…_Faye thought. She pulled out her Glock and was about to shoot, when there was a sudden gunshot. She felt a searing pain in her shoulder, and she cried out. Another gunshot and suddenly she was on the ground, a heavy body pinning her to the street.

"Get off me" she breathed. More gunshots, a man cussing… it had to be William.

"Stay down… it's dangerous here" the stranger said above her. He was… _protecting_ her…

"Faye, are you alright?!"

It was Spike.

"Spike!" she wheezed, trying to push the man off. Suddenly he got to his feet.

In a blur, she saw Spike lunge at the stranger, and they began to fist fight. Faye flinched with every blow that reached its target. She was impressed that the stranger was able to both block Spike's attacks, and land some hits of his own.

"Damn you," Spike raged, "he's getting away! I don't have time for this shit!"

"I got this" Faye said, but both men ignored her. Faye pursed her lips and went after William herself, holding her bleeding shoulder.

* * *

"You let your friend go after dangerous men on her own?" the stranger asked as he blocked one of Spike's punches.

"Faye is more than capable of taking care of herself" Spike said, dodging one of the stranger's kicks.

"Still, it is a dangerous line of work, bounty hunting" the stranger said. Both men had stopped attacking and were sizing each other up.

"It's her choice. Nobody forced her into this" Spike said, dancing on the balls of his feet.

"Don't you care what happens to her?" the stranger asked.

"She knows the dangers. She isn't new to this" Spike replied. "What do you care, anyway?"

"I don't" the stranger said.

"Then shut the hell up about shit you don't understand" Spike said, and the stranger lunged at him. They began to fight once more; a flurry of fists and kicks.

Then there was an explosion somewhere behind them and a cry of pain.

"Faye!" Spike yelled, recognizing the voice. He dodged an incoming punch and ran. It wasn't like him to run from a fight, but he wasn't running because he was afraid. At least, he wasn't afraid of the man behind him. But if something happened to Faye…

He found her lying on the ground. Kneeling beside her, he turned her over. She had various scratches and scrapes all over her face but otherwise seemed alright.

"Faye? You alright?" he asked, giving her a slight shake.

"Don't do that, lunkhead, it hurts" she mumbled. It was then that he noticed the gunshot wound on her shoulder.

"Damn. He got you, huh?" he said as she sat up, holding her head. He knew how painful it was to get shot and he felt bad for her.

"Yeah, that bastard. What the hell was his deal anyway?" Faye asked. "He was the usual petty criminal, wasn't he? And who the hell is Ramesses? He said he'd rather die than be caught by some weirdo named _Ramesses_ and then he blew himself up"

"That would be me" the stranger said coming up from behind them. Spike jumped to his feet, his Jericho ready to blast the man's brains out.

"You?" Faye asked stupidly.

"You two cost me my paycheck. You owe me" Ramesses said.

"What?!" Spike thundered.

"Now wait just a minute! _You _came butting in! _You_ lost us our reward!" Faye snapped.

"That man was worth more dead than alive" Ramesses said. "Are you alright?" he asked, nodding towards Faye. Spike glared at the man.

"I… oh… yeah… I'm fine" she said. "It's nothing"

Was Faye _blushing_?

"Well, if you're sure… I can patch you up right here if you want me to" Ramesses offered.

"Uh… no, that's alright… I, uh… we have a doctor on our ship" Faye said.

Spike narrowed his eyes and looked from Faye to Ramesses and back again.

"Alright. Remember, bounty hunters. You owe me a head" Ramesses said, walking away.

"You owe _us_ a bounty!" Faye yelled after him. But within seconds, he had blended into the shadows and was gone.

"The nerve. He goes and meddles in other people's business and then says _we _owe him. What a joke" Faye fumed. "Where's my shoe? It cost too damn much to leave it behind" she added, looking around for her high heel.

"Here" Spike said, handing it to her. "I don't know who that guy is, but I don't like him" he grumbled, lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag. He held out a hand for her and helped her up.

"I'm sure you don't Spike" Faye said, leaning on him as she put her shoe on.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped.

"Nothing. It's just that he reminds me of Andy, somehow. And I know how much you liked Andy" Faye said.

"I had absolutely no problem with Andy" Spike snarled. "He wasn't even competition. In the end he admitted that I was better"

"Uh huh. We've heard this story a million times before, cowboy' Faye said. She winced and Spike slid his arm around her to help her walk. "Thank you" she said softly.

"I had _no _problem with Andy" Spike grumbled again as the Bebop came into view overhead.

* * *

**A/N:** _Haha! To make up for my long absence, I bring you a double update! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please review and let me know what you think!_


	10. Session 33: So Here We Are

The evening breeze was chilly on Callisto, like usual. Faye was sitting on the flight deck, knees drawn up to her chest, hugging herself. She didn't particularly like coming to this wretched place. For some reason, it made the Bebop crew seem more subdued… dejected. Faye wasn't even sure why she felt this melancholy sweep in every time they docked here. Thankfully it wasn't often that they came here… but because of their line of work, and because this was the perfect hideout for petty criminals, they _did_ dock here once in a while to catch a bounty. Like today. At least it had been worth it.

She looked out over the snowy terrain. She remembered Gren and felt overwhelmingly sad. She had known him for only a few hours, but his tragic ending still tugged at her heart. She wondered what her purpose in this life was. Why had she been woken from her freezing sleep at this exact point in time? Did she have a purpose? Did anyone? Had Gren died because it was his destiny? Or simply because that was the way things had panned out in the end? And she thought back on Spike and _his_ past. Was it destiny that he was alive when everyone he cared about was dead? His whole reason to be alive had been killed right in front of his eyes, and she knew well that the day he had gone to face Vicious, he had gone with the intention to die, despite what he had said to her before leaving.

"_I'm not going there to die… I'm going to find out if I'm really alive…"_

What a load of crap. Even after so long, she couldn't help but get a little angry at that jerk for leaving them behind; for leaving _her_ behind. What a selfish act. But then again, was she selfish too for wishing he would have stayed? Whatever. He had survived and that was that. She really had to stop thinking about that man. She had her own burdens to carry without adding _his _to her plate. And she had to stop thinking about the past, too. Spike had taught her to look towards the future, even if he had been staring at the past himself. And she was grateful to him for that lesson. Because of him, she had been able to let go of her past when she had finally remembered it. She was not chained to it anymore like she had been for the past four years. While her past and her memories had not been all that great, she was able to face it and _move on._

She pulled her beanie tighter over her ears. She was glad she had decided to change her regular outfit. Long gone was the yellow getup. Still, even through her leather jeans and grey sweater, the breeze was biting cruelly into her skin. That was ok, she welcomed the pain of it. It was good to be alive. They had all gone through so much crap that she was sure it was their time to be alive and happy. They deserved it, didn't they?

And then she thought about Julia and she wondered what kind of woman she was. She wondered what about her had made Spike fall so madly in love. Yes, Faye had met Julia once for a brief moment; not nearly enough to know her at all. She knew Spike liked beautiful women, and Julia was definitely beautiful.

_Well, much more so than I am_, Faye thought, resting her forehead against her knees.

Julia was ordinary beautiful: kind blue eyes, soft blond hair, and a serene face; exactly the type of woman to dominate men like Spike who lived dangerously. She supposed Spike had longed for peace and tranquility and Julia had probably provided that for him.

And Faye?

Well, Faye knew she was feisty, and she was sassy and she was loud. She had a sharp tongue and attitude to spare. _I'm not a bitch though_, she consoled herself. _I'm simply a product of my circumstances and experiences._ Suddenly she began to tear up.

"You alright?"

It was Spike. She didn't even have to look up to know his voice.

"I'm fine" she replied. _Damn it, just when I'm all emotional,_ she thought vehemently, willing her tears to go away. A light tap on the shoulder made her finally look at him. He was holding a cup out to her. "What is it?" she asked, taking it from his hands.

"Hot chocolate. Ed kind of forced Jet to make some" Spike said.

"We had chocolate? Why wasn't I aware of this?" Faye asked.

"Just got it today. That reward really did come in handy" Spike replied. "Why are you crying?"

Faye stuck her nose in the air. "I'm not"

"Yes you are. It may be getting dark, but I can see just fine"

"I said I'm not"

Spike shrugged and then sat next to her. "Jet said he's just going to refill and then we're off. So maybe another hour or so. I'm about ready to get out of here" he said, taking a sip from his own cup. He was wearing his ridiculous pink puffer jacket and it made Faye giggle.

"You too, huh? I hate this place" she confessed. He nodded, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He offered her one but she declined. "Spike… can I ask you something?"

"You just did" he replied, taking a drag. "But you can ask one more"

"What was Julia like?"

Spike tensed up and Faye immediately regretted her question, thinking he was going to blow up at her and storm back inside. They were silent for a long time before he finally spoke.

"She was unlike anybody I had ever met" he said. He had this distant look in his eyes that made Faye kick herself mentally for asking such a personal question. "She looked like an angel, but she was more like a devil. She was beautiful, dangerous, clever… but also sweet and passionate. She was full of life; young and naive. I guess we both were. She was funny and she had a beautiful voice that soothed me. Her smile brightened my day"

Faye felt a lump in her throat. Would a man ever think of her in that way? She doubted it. "And… and how did you two…you know… start dating?" she asked Spike tentatively.

Again, Spike remained silent for a moment, taking deep, slow drags from his cigarette.

"By the time I met her, I was already becoming bored with the life I had made for myself in the syndicate. I wanted out. Julia just kind of sealed the deal for me. She warmed my cold heart, and I no longer wanted to work for the Red Dragon. I was sick of it. Vicious and I had changed. Or rather, _I_ had changed too much. Anyway, I was a stupid kid back then. Vicious introduced me to his gorgeous girl and I was instantly smitten, and I knew she was too. Instead of keeping my distance…" Spike trailed off, shaking his head. Faye waited patiently for him to continue.

"It was wrong, what we did. I have no excuse for our behavior. I know now that I would never do the same thing again, ever. But we just wanted each other. We knew it was wrong to carry an affair, especially when the person we were betraying was Vicious. But we didn't care. We didn't care about our actions or the consequences. All I knew was that she filled a void in my heart that I didn't even know I had. All I wanted was Julia and the feelings she made me feel. I had never felt that way with anyone before. It was a rush of adrenaline. Well, it didn't last long, not at all… maybe a month or so. But it was enough. You can completely fall in love in such a short time."

Faye sighed. "Oh, I know. _Trust me_, I know" she said sadly, thinking about Whitney.

"Well, that's all there is to it, really. I saw a beautiful girl and I wanted her. Turned out she was more than just a pretty face and she threw me for a loop. I never really got back on solid ground until…" he trailed off again.

But Faye knew what he meant. He had been spinning in the past until Julia had been killed… until he had killed Vicious.

"I sometimes suspect that Julia didn't run away with me because she wasn't sure what she wanted" Spike said after a moment. He crushed the remainder of his cigarette on the deck and flicked it over the edge. Faye licked her lips and waited. Spike was volunteering bits about his past without being forced to and she wasn't about to ruin it.

"I could tell sometimes, you know? The way she looked at him when we were together. The way she smiled at him… I think that she was truly confused as to which one of us she wanted. I can't blame her though. She was between a rock and a hard place and we really did bite off more than we could chew. When I asked her to run away with me, she didn't jump at the chance. She was uncertain. She told me she couldn't come with me. She asked where we would go, what we would do. At first, I thought that she was just afraid, but now I'm not so sure. She was with him a long time after all, and I know she loved him. She told me so. But Vicious didn't make it easy for her. That dumbass. Had he paid close attention, who knows? Maybe she would have chosen him. But he was not an easy man to reason with. He was the type that would shoot first and ask questions later. I can't say I blame him. We… we did him wrong." Spike sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. "It was all just a big cluster fuck of mistakes we all made, that's all. In the end we all paid the price, didn't we? We all had to deal with the consequences of our actions. And nothing can change the past."

"Someone once told me that the future is what counts anyway" Faye said with a little smile. Snowflakes had begun to fall, catching on her eyelashes and on Spike's curls.

"What a wise person" he said with a smug smile. Faye snorted. "Well, it's time for me to get inside. Can't stand the cold for too long" he said, getting to his feet. "Coming?"

Faye shook her head. "I think I'll stay here for a bit longer"

"Suit yourself" he said with a shrug. She watched him make his way back into the Bebop and smiled.

How nice it was to share a rare intimate moment with Spike. No arguments, no bullshit. Just a normal conversation between two friends. Why, he could be civilized when he wasn't being so obnoxious. And it made her happy that he had shared all of these things with _her_. She had once told that lunkhead not to share anything about his past with her, but that was before. Now she appreciated the closeness.

The door to the Bebop opened again.

"Faye-Faye!" Edward called out. She came out into the flight deck, Ein following close behind. Immediately the young girl began to dance on the balls of her bare feet. "Ah! Cold! Too cold! Faye-Faye! Jet says to come inside! We made cookies! Hurry, Faye-Faye! It's toooooo cold!"

"Alright, I'm coming" she called out. She got to her feet, careful not to slip on the fresh snow that was accumulating on the deck. Ed giggled and ran back inside, arms flapping.

Faye shook her head and smiled. She didn't understand how she had ended up here, living the life of a bounty hunter. Was it destiny? Or just a simple stroke of luck? She didn't know, and she didn't care at this point. Whatever the reason was, whether it be destiny or just plain chance, she was here, over half a century later from the time she was supposed to have died. And she had Spike, And Jet and Ed and even Ein. For better or for worse, this was her family now and she wouldn't trade it for the world.


	11. Session 34: Oh Pretty Woman

**A/N: **_Just a quick heads up that this chapter contains a few obscene words here and there, nothing too bad but still..._

* * *

"Hello amigos, how y'all doin'?" a familiar voice said through the TV. Spike yawned and flipped through the channels, before finally turning it off. He downed the rest of the amber liquid in his cup, relishing the burning feeling in his throat. He poured himself another drink.

"Hey, aren't you interested in what bounties might be out there?" Faye asked.

"Nope"

He noticed she pursed her lips and smiled inwardly. Antagonizing Faye was his favorite pass time. She was such a riot when she was irritated.

"Whatever" she said as though she had read his mind. She got to her feet and stretched her arms over her head with a yawn. "I'm pretty tired… I better get to sleep" she said.

Once she was gone, he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one. He grabbed his book from the table and attempted to read to no avail. His eyes took in the words but they made no sense to his brain. By the fifth attempt at rereading the same page, he gave up and tossed the book aside. Faye was on his mind. But why? He allowed himself ponder this strange phenomenon while pouring himself another drink.

Faye was a good looking girl. Hell, she was gorgeous. A _babe_, as Jet would sometimes call her. And Spike had to agree. He knew beautiful women, and Faye was one of them. Her raven-black hair, her fair skin, her emerald eyes and crimson lips… she was sex appeal personified.

But that wasn't what made her special. After all, there were thousands of beautiful women out there. No, Faye was different. She was loud, spoiled, and obnoxious. She could be a total brat. She could be childish and aloof and her words could scald. But that was all on the surface. He and Jet let her think that she had them fooled, that they believed her tough girl façade, but they knew better. Beneath the tough exterior was the real Faye, hidden by layers upon layers of defense mechanisms. The real Faye was funny and sometimes ditzy. She was sweet and caring and gentle. He had experienced her tenderness and caring firsthand on many occasions; when he would get his ass kicked and she had to take care of him while Jet was out after a bounty head, for example. Of course, Spike would never allow her to get close to him… he would always purposefully ruin those tender moments with sarcastic remarks and ended with him being smacked around by the crazy woman. It had to be done though. It would not do for him to allow himself to get attached to another woman, ever again.

He remembered Whitney and cringed. It was unfair that upon waking from her cryogenic sleep, she had been bombarded with sleaze balls and hardship. It was no wonder that she had had to develop such a tough exterior. He knew better than anyone that this world was full of sharks, and Faye had been but a tasty morsel in the sea. Faye wasn't as tough as she made everyone believe. She was insecure and afraid and Whitney had taken full advantage of that vulnerability. Spike felt a pang of (it couldn't be jealousy) _something_ in his chest when he realized that Faye had given the best of herself to a man who had used her. She had given her sweetness, her trust, her tenderness, to the wrong man and now she was closed off to all other men. Just like Spike was closed off to all other women. After Julia, everything had changed for him. It pleased him that thinking about Julia didn't make him feel like he was dying inside anymore. He could think and talk about her and felt alright. There was a dull ache in his heart, of course. An ache he suspected would never go away, but her memory no longer seared him to the bone like it used to. And that was ok with Spike. Chalk that one up to learning to move on.

Thanks Jet. Thanks Faye. Thanks Ed.

He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help compare the two women. Where Faye was loud and sassy, Julia had been quiet and tranquil. Faye would rage and spit like an angry kitten in an argument, Julia never lost her composure. Faye was a gambler; Julia a trained assassin. Faye acted like a diva, Julia like a princess. Both were equally deadly.

Spike closed his eyes and remembered his Julia… or was it simply Julia? Had she ever been his to begin with? Oh well, it didn't matter now.

Her hair smelled like roses; he remembered it vividly. Her skin was soft and warm; her lips gentle. Making love to her was like nothing he had ever experienced before and was unlikely to ever experience again. He had given himself to that woman completely, and therein laid his downfall. He couldn't allow that to happen ever again. Ever.

No matter how lovely those green eyes looked when they were angry, or how inviting those red lips seemed when they were pulled down in a frown. No matter how silky that porcelain skin looked, or how soft that black hair appeared, or how tantalizing that blasted woman was when she was arguing with him over whatever. He just couldn't give in. He never would. It was disaster waiting to happen, and he was done with that kind of bullshit.

But he was a man after all, and thinking about Faye was causing all kinds of reactions in his body that he didn't like. He needed to get out of the Bebop. With his luck, Ed would come out of the blue and ask why his pants looked funny. Nope. Better get the hell out of the Bebop and do something about it.

* * *

Hours later, he lay in bed next to a brunette. She was lying on her stomach, her face turned away from him. Good. He didn't feel much like looking at her once it was all done. It was a shitty thing to do, but she knew how the game worked. They all knew how the game worked. He leaned over her and grabbed the pack of cigarettes at the bedside table and lit it. The empty bottle of whiskey on the floor was a cruel reminder that in the morning, his hang over would be unforgiving.

Well, at least the sex had been alright… nothing mind-blowing or anything. A little disappointing, if truth be told. But then again, even bad sex was good sex so he couldn't complain much. The late night bustle of the streets on Mars filtered through the window. Even though there was a beautiful girl in bed with him, Spike felt alone. It wasn't a feeling he particularly enjoyed, and he was about to swing his legs over the bed and take off, but a small hand grabbed his wrist.

"Where you going, baby?" the woman said sleepily. She gave him a sultry smile and sat up.

"I have to go" Spike said, crushing his half-smoked cigarette on the bedside table.

"Don't go yet… the night is still young" she said. She crawled over him and leaned down to kiss him.

"I really have to go" Spike said.

The brunette (for fucks sake, he couldn't even remember her name) looked down between their bodies and smiled. "I think you want to stay for a little longer" she murmured. His traitor body had reacted to her magnificent tits and Spike groaned inwardly. He really did want to go back home to the Bebop… but another roll in the sheets couldn't hurt, right?

Half an hour later, as she lay on his chest, panting and sweaty, there was loud banging on the door.

"Mika! I know you're in there!"

It was the voice of a man. A very angry man.

The brunette sat up and looked around in panic for her clothes. Scrambling off of Spike, she began to pull her underwear on. "Fuck!" she hissed as the banging continued.

"What the fuck is going on?" Spike asked, pulling his pants on. "Who is that?"

"My boyfriend" Mika said.

"What?! Why didn't you tell me you had boyfriend?!" Spike snarled.

"I don't know" she said, slipping her heels on.

"Great. Just great" Spike said. He didn't need this shit. He grabbed his Jericho from the inside of his coat and cocked it.

"Don't kill him!" Mika screeched, clinging to his arm.

He snatched his arm away from her. "Shut up. This wouldn't have happened if you told me you had a boyfriend."

Just then, the door was broken and in came a giant of a man. He looked more like a bear than anything, with his bushy beard and hair. His arms were beefy and his chest was like a barrel.

"I'm gonna kill you, son of a bitch" the man snarled at Spike. "That's my girl"

Spike smiled lazily, aiming his gun at the man. "If she's your girl, why is she looking for dick somewhere else?"

The man lunged at Spike who easily jumped out of the way. The advantage of facing a large opponent was that their movements tended to be sluggish.

"Close the door Mika!" the man commanded, lunging himself at Spike again.

"How?! It's broken, you dolt!" she shouted.

"Block his way! Did you take his money?!" the man asked.

"Yes, I have it, sweetie, let's just go!" Mika begged. She waved a brown thing in the air. Spike felt around his pockets and noticed his wallet was missing. Fuck.

"What the hell? When did you take it?" he asked.

"While you were passed out, babe. Never trust a beautiful woman" Mika said with a wink.

Spike cursed himself mentally. He was never this careless. He never drank before finding a cheap woman to pass the night with, but today of all days, he had downed half a bottle of whiskey and passed out right after he finished. He had been duped.

"I don't like this son of a bitch. He looks too smug for my liking" the man said.

"Ronald, let's just go!" Mika pleaded.

"Yeah Ronald, if you value your life, you better just go" Spike said. He didn't really feel like killing anyone today, even if it was in self-defense. The man pulled out a knife and Spike almost rolled his eyes. This was too easy. He swiftly kicked it out of the man's hand and then proceeded to deliver a series of blows that caught the man off guard. Spike then jumped over the brute and snatched the wallet from Mika's hand. Ronald had gotten to his feet, however and lunged himself at Spike once again. Spike grabbed Mika's shoulders and twisted her around, pushing her towards the man. They collided and Spike took his chance to escape. He really did not feel like fighting or killing or anything. He wanted a simple evening at least once in his life, damn it. Good food, good sex, relaxing with a cigarette and a few drinks... was that too much to ask for? Apparently it was. He climbed into the Swordfish II and immediately took off into the night. Then his radar picked up the presence of another air craft. It was Mika and Ronald. Damn it all. Spike didn't want to engage in a dogfight either, but there was no way around it when Ronald began to fire missiles at the Swordfish. Looping up and around the enemy aircraft, Spike began to fire his own. This was getting tedious real quick.

Suddenly, out of the blue, a familiar red aircraft appeared in the sky. As lady luck would have it, one of Spike's missiles locked in on it and missed it by a miracle.

"Hey! What's the big idea, you jerk?!" a familiar voice raged through the communicator.

"Get out of the way. Who the hell told you to butt in?" Spike said casually.

"Spike?! Why the hell are you shooting at _me_ for?!" Faye's face came in to view on his screen.

"I'm not shooting at you. Besides, aren't you supposed to be sleeping anyway?"

"I couldn't sleep. I went out to the casino for a bit" Faye said. She yelped as one of the enemy's missiles nearly hit her aircraft. "What the hell is going on here?!"

"Jealous boyfriend" Spike said.

"Do you never learn your lesson, Spike?!" Faye said, her face turning red. Though from anger or alcohol was anyone's guess. Spike was going with alcohol.

"Not my fault Mika didn't mention her beloved Ronald" Spike mumbled, not overly pleased with the subtle barb.

"What? Mika and Ronald? Is that right?" Faye's attitude suddenly changed. "It's ok Spike, I got this… you can go home and get some rest" she said sweetly.

"Why?" Spike asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Oh, no reason" Faye said as she began to shoot at the enemy.

"They're bounty heads, aren't they?"

"What? No, no… not at all" she said unconvincingly.

"Not a chance, Valentine, how much are they worth?"

"Pocket change" Faye replied as she looped her aircraft to the side and began to pursue Ronald and Mika.

"How much" Spike demanded.

"Fifteen million woolongs" Faye said reluctantly.

* * *

It was with a sudden, sickening crash that they arrived on the Bebop. And, because the heavens had decided to shit on him all night, it was Spike who had crashed into the ship.

"You're in so much trouble, it's not even funny" Faye said through the comm. Spike watched as she glided smoothly into the hangar and mentally cursed her. It was as though she were mocking him.

"What the hell is going on out here?!" Jet thundered as he ran out on to the flight deck. "SPIKE!"

Spike cringed. He hadn't meant to crash into the Bebop. It was just that he was a little bit drunk and spinning around in that dogfight hadn't improved his senses. And Faye hogging all the landing strip hadn't made it any easier. He could hear Jet going on and on in the back ground and Spike lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, tuning him out.

"Get out here, Spike!"

Sighing deeply, Spike opened the cockpit and unwillingly stepped out, his shoulders hunched, hands in his pockets, cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Sorry" he mumbled, looking so pathetic, Jet didn't have the heart to tear him a new one.

"Honestly Spike" Jet said, rubbing his bald head in exasperation.

"Here, take it" Spike shoved his EMC into Jet's hand.

"Huh? What's this?"

"It's seven million woolongs" he answered, walking away. "For repair costs"

"We caught Mika and Ronald" Faye called out. "Or rather, _I_ caught them" she added smugly.

"I helped!" Spike spat.

She came out of the hangar, hands clasped behind her head and a smirk on her lips. Jet groaned and went to inspect the damage to his ship.

"I told you to leave it to me, Big Shot" she said as Spike approached her.

"Shut up" Spike said, standing in front of her.

"You should listen to me more often, you know" she continued.

"Whatever"

None of this would have happened if he hadn't been thinking about her all night. It was all her fault, really. He wanted to erase that smug smile from her face. He leaned in dangerously close to her, their face inches apart. She frowned and took a step back.

"What?" she snapped. Spike narrowed his eyes at her and then walked away. "Weirdo!" she called out after him.

Yep. He was a weirdo alright. Why the hell had he wanted to kiss her?

* * *

**A/N: **_Well, here you are! I'm on a roll! Already working on the next few chapters and everything lol. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far, and… I have a question!_

**Spike:** Oh great, you and your questions…

**A/N:** _Excuse me?_

**Jet:** Let the girl talk, Spike, she may have something to say

**Spike:** Whatever… knowing _her_…

**A/N:** _Um…_

**Faye:** How about we talk about the next session instead, huh? It revolves around Edward and a young man!

**Jet:** What do you mean?

**Faye:** I'm not saying anything else. If you want me to divulge the whole plot, it's gonna cost ya

**Spike:** I don't have any money

**Jet:** I don't either

**Faye:** Oh well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see then!

**A/N: ** _Guys? Where are you going? Hello? Guys? Well… ok then. Dear readers: My question was… do you all want more prominent Spike/Faye or just subtle hints like I've been doing so far?_

**Ed: **Kiss-kiss Faye-Faye! Kiss-kiss Spike-Spike! Kiss-kiss Faye-Faye! That's what the audience wants!

**A/N:** _How do you know?_

**Ed:** Because I'm Edward!


	12. Session 35: Drops of Jupiter

The door to the Bebop opened and its crew members stepped outside.

"Alright. I have to make some repairs to the ship," Jet threw a filthy look at Spike, "so that means we are stuck in Ganymede for a while. It could be a week or a month, I have no idea yet. At least we made it. And thankfully it's Ganymede and not Callisto."

It was early in the morning but already the mood of the grownups was irritable. Faye huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Spike shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk away.

"Hey… where are you two going?! You should at least help me fix this!" Jet said, raising his voice.

"I'm off to play the ponies… none of this was _my _fault after all" Faye said as she sauntered away.

Spike stopped mid step. "I gave you my share of the bounty for the damages… I need a drink." He raised a hand to wave bye and walked away.

"I tell you, these guys are so ungrateful… well, whatever. You gonna go too, Ed?" the big man asked, turning to the red-haired youth who was standing next to him, looking at the other two leave.

"Ed wants to go to the library" she said. She held out her hand towards Jet and grinned.

"Oh, I suppose you want money too? I swear Faye is rubbing off on you" Jet grumbled. He pulled out a card and handed it to Edward. "Don't use it all in one place, ok?"

Ed nodded and then jumped into the grown man's arms. "Edward will be back soon to help you fix the Bebop-Bebop!" she said. She leaned in and kissed Jet's cheek, startling him, before jumping off again. "Bye bye Jet-person!" she said as she skipped away. Ein barked once at Jet and then followed the skinny girl.

Jet shook his head. "That girl is somethin' else." With a sigh, he went back inside the Bebop.

* * *

"Ein, look at this!"

Ein sniffed around the electronics. They were inside a store, taking a look at all the latest tech gadgets and computers.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you are doing here with that dog, kid?!" The owner of the store came running at them, shaking his fist. "No dogs allowed!"

"Ay ay ay! Let's get out of here, Ein!"

With that, the young girl and her dog ran out of the building.

"And don't let me catch you in here again!" the man shouted after them.

"Huh… I guess everyone is in a bad mood today, Ein" Ed said. "Ooo! An ice-cream stand! Let's go!" With a giggle and a new bounce in her step, Edward led the way swinging her arms with each step.

"What will you have, kid?" the ice-cream man asked. Ed pressed a finger to her lips in deep thought as she looked at all the flavors.

"What do you want, Ein?" she asked her loyal companion. Ein barked twice and Ed nodded. "Yeah! Sounds yummy! Yummy yummy for my tummy! I'll have the pink one!"

"You mean cherry?" the man asked.

"Yes, the pinky-pink one" Ed repeated.

The man grabbed a cone and placed two scoops of ice-cream inside. "That'll be ten woolongs" he said.

"I have woolongs! Here!" Ed said, handing the man her card.

"Is this a joke? Does it look like I accept EMCs? I don't have an EMC machine, so I only accept cash!" the man barked. Ed blinked twice and then looked at Ein who whimpered.

"But I have money in my card. Jet-person gave me woolongs" Ed said with an innocent smile.

"I just told you I only accept cash! Paper! No cards! No woolongs, no ice-cream!"

"Ooh la la…" Ed said, scratching her head, looping a thumb through the strap of her small backpack.

"Excuse me, but… I can pay for that ice-cream"

Ed turned around. A young boy with glasses smiled at her and handed the ice-cream man some money.

"Alright! Thank you very much, boy-person!" Ed said as she took the treat from the man.

"No problem. My name is Nathan... what is yours?" he asked, pushing his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose and hoisting his bag more securely over his shoulder.

"Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky the fourth" Ed said, squatting down to let Ein have a lick of ice-cream.

"Edward Wong… well… that's a pretty long name" Nathan said.

Ed giggled. "You can call me Ed"

"Alright then, Ed. Mind if I take your picture?" Nathan asked. He grabbed the camera that was hanging around his neck.

"Oh? Pictures! Edward likes pictures! Ok then! But Ein has to be in it too!" she said.

"That's alright with me. Ready? Three… two… one… smile!"

Ed grinned, hugging Ein tightly. There was a flash of bright light and she blinked so her eyes could get adjusted again.

"Very nice… here, take a look" Nathan said, handing Ed the picture. Ed giggled.

"Look, Ein… we look great!" she said as she showed him the picture.

"That's a nice dog" Nathan said.

"Ein is not just a dog. He's a data dog… and my best friend" Ed said, turning her amber eyes to the boy.

"A data dog, huh? That's pretty neat!"

Ed nodded, smiling. "Yup!"

"So… what does that mean exactly? What can he do?" Nathan asked.

Ed giggled again. "Ein is a super dog! He can do anything!" With that, she went into a long explanation of her dog-friend's abilities.

Without even noticing, the boy and the girl had begun walking together. Ed spoke enthusiastically, waving her arms in exaggerated movements as she spoke. Nathan listened attentively at the girl with the red hair, fascinated by her speech and eccentric nature. He had never met anyone like her. She was wild… free. Her fiery hair was unruly and she was barefoot. The gray t-shirt she wore was much too large for her small frame, and she was barefoot. The large goggles on her head gave her the appearance of some kind of exotic bug. But a pretty one… like a butterfly or something. The boy looked down at his own attire: a white, long-sleeved dress shirt, a beige vest, a red tie, black slacks and polished shoes. The contrast between them was as plain as night and day. Still, he was curious about this girl that laughed loudly and seemed to have no care in the world.

"How old are you Ed?" he asked.

"I'm fourteen. One four" she replied.

"Oh, one year younger than I am" he said, sweeping his blond bangs out of his eyes.

"What's in there?" she asked, pointing at the bag he carried over his shoulder.

"Oh this? Just my photographs. Wanna take a look?" he asked. Ed nodded enthusiastically.

"Show Ed! Show Ed!"

Nathan pulled out one of the photo albums in his bag and opened it. "Let's sit over here" he said, leading the way to a bench. Their feet had unknowingly taken them to the park. They sat down and he opened the album.

He showed her all his photographs. There were pictures of happy strangers, sad strangers, angry strangers… crying strangers. Pictures of animals, of children… of pretty places around the city. There were photographs of Nathan, of sunsets… of cloudy skies. Edward was fascinated. She turned the page and giggled.

"Kissy-kissy!" she squealed. Indeed, there were pictures of couples kissing, holding hands, hugging… walking along the park.

"I'm hungry… are you hungry?" Nathan asked.

"Edward and Ein are always hungry, just like Faye-Faye and Spikey-Spike and Jet person!" she said, stretching her arms over her head.

"And who are they?" Nathan asked tilting his head to the side.

"My family at the Bebop-Bebop" Ed answered.

"Bebop? You mean the bounty hunting Bebop?" Nathan inquired. Ed nodded.

"Yup!"

"Wow! I've heard about them. Does that mean you are Radical Edward?"

"Yes, Edward is Radical Edward! Nice to meet you, Mister Nathan!" she said, saluting the boy.

"Impressive! I've hear a lot about you guys" the blond youth said. "Listen, why don't I invite you to some lunch? You can tell me some of your adventures!"

"Adventures! Alright! Let's have some lunch by the bunch!" she said as she began to walk on her hands, feet high in the air. Nathan grinned and walked beside her. If his family saw him talking to someone like her… they would be scandalized.

* * *

"Just one more! Pleeeeaaase!" Ed begged, tugging the camera from Nathan's hands.

"Alright, alright. Just one, though!" he said, giving in.

"Hooray!" She shoved Ein into Nathan's arms. Wrapping her own skinny arm around Nathan's neck, she took a picture of the three of them with her free hand. "See? Perfect!"

"I see that" Nathan said.

The day had passed by much faster than the youngsters had expected. They had shared lunch, swapped stories of adventures, had gone on a photograph binge (with Ed doing most of the picture taking) and just hung out.

"Uh oh… it's late. Jet-person is going to be mad at Edward… the sun is going down… way down!" Ed said, shaking her hands in nervousness and dancing on her bare feet. "Ooh la la… Ed is in a trouble-bubble! Good bye, Nathan! Good bye!" she said as she stuffed Ein inside her backpack. With one last look at her new friend, Ed turned on her heel and ran, arms stretched out beside her and making airplane sounds.

"Bye Ed! Nice meeting you!" Nathan said, feeling sad that the red-haired girl was leaving.

* * *

"Edward! Where were you? We were worried sick!" Jet said as soon as the wild-child stepped through the circular door. Spike was sitting on the yellow couch, smoking a cigarette. Faye was sitting on the center table, filing her nails, one leg crossed over the other. Jet was sitting on the yellow chair, arms crossed. "We were about to go looking for you. You said you were going for a quick trip to the library" Jet scolded.

"Ed made a new friend" the girl said, releasing Ein from her backpack. He trotted happily down the steps.

"A friend? What do you mean?" Faye asked, looking up from her nail filing. "A boyfriend?"

Edward giggled. "No! Just a friend! The Nathan-friend!"

"The Nathan-friend, huh?" Spike said, crushing his cigarette in the ash tray.

"Yeah! We took pictures and ate yummy food and Edward had fun!" She sat on the handrail and slid down. "Ed didn't realize it was so late" she said.

"Well, next time, just take the communicator ok? We need to be able to contact you in case of anything" Jet grumbled.

"Aye-aye, Jet-captain!" Ed said, and without another word, she ran off somewhere on the Bebop.

"Sounds like Ed was out on a date" Faye said.

"What?! That's ridiculous. Ed is just a kid, what does she know about dates?" Jet said.

"Well, I don't usually agree with Faye, but it does sound like a date" Spike said, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back on the couch.

"See? And, she's not a child anymore Jet… she's fourteen. Do you know what happens around that age? We—" Faye began, but Jet cut her off.

"No! I don' know what happens, and I don't want to know what happens! I don't need to know!" he said, getting to his feet.

Faye shrugged. "I'm just sayin' you can't expect her to stay a child forever. Pretty soon she's going to have to beat off the boys with a stick"

"Faye knows about that" Spike said, peering at Faye through the corner of his eye.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Faye snapped.

"Nothing at all" he said nonchalantly.

"I haven't been on a date in a long, long time" she huffed.

"That explains why you are always in a bad mood" he said.

"I am not in a bad mood! If you _must _know, Spiegel, the last date I had was with Andy… and he was great in bed" Faye said.

"I'm not listening to this" Jet said, throwing his hands in the air and hurrying out of the lounge.

"WHAT?! You slept with Andy?!" Spike asked. Faye ignored him. "How could you? What did you see in a guy like that? He was nothing but a pest! An insufferable, obnoxious, troublesome pest!"

"Sounds just like you" Faye shot back, knowing it would irritate him more.

Spike punched the center table. "He sounds _nothing_ like me! We aren't alike in the least bit!" he seethed.

"If you say so, cowboy" Faye said, getting to her feet.

"Andy is _not_ like me! Why, he couldn't even catch a small fry bounty if his life depended on it! He was just a little rich boy with too much time on his hands" Spike continued.

"Uh-huh" Faye said, walking away. Spike followed her.

"Are you listening, Faye?!"

* * *

Back in her room (though she never used it much) Ed taped the picture of Nathan, Ein and her on the cold, metal wall, staring at it for a moment.

"It was nice today, wasn't it, Ein? Edward had fun… did you?" she asked the data dog. Ein barked once. She scratched his ears and plopped down on the bed.

"Nathan… what a lovely-dovely name" she murmured. Turning on her side, she closed her eyes and fell asleep with Ein curled up next to her.

* * *

**A/N: **_I thought it was time for little Edward to have a friend her age! I mean, she is nearing that period in her time when she will be experiencing a lot of changes so it is only natural that someday, she will eventually divide her attention between being a genius hacker and boys! What do you all think? Should I keep it going or leave it as is?_

**Faye: **Well, I'm a hopeless romantic, you know that

**Spike: **Blah, don't start getting all sappy, Valentine

**Faye: **You just don't understand how a delicate woman's heart works!

**Spike: **You're not delicate

**Jet: **Stop it, you two!** *clears throat* **Next episode Faye is going to have to undergo a dangerous mission, so better be prepared.

**Faye: **Why me?!

**Ed: **Next session… _**Everything Changes**_!

**Spike:** Ugh, Ein, did you really have to pee right here?!


	13. Session 36: Everything Changes

**A/N: **_Thank you guys for the reviews! They give me motivation to keep writing!_

_Edward is a tough character to write, and it's proving a challenge for me to try and get her just right, so thank you for approving of her lol! _

_Sammy, I thought I was the only one who got that little tidbit about Faye and Andy… I mean, she went to his house and he wined and dined her…. She didn't return to the Bebop till the next day bearing gifts lol. I think it was very subtle, but the hint is there!_

* * *

"Maybe Edward can help!" the red-haired child said cheerfully. Jet, Spike and Faye sighed heavily. Jet shook his head and pulled out a cigarette.

"No, Ed. You can't" he said grimly. He lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply. It was night time and they were still stuck on Ganymede; the Bebopers were discussing their next job.

"Why not? Ed is a girl too, like Faye-Faye!" Edward said, climbing onto the center table. Spike crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, clearly unwilling to help with the topic at hand.

"Well, yes, Ed, you're a girl, but you're not old enough" Faye said. She examined her nails.

"Ed is not oldy-moldy?" the young girl asked, her large, amber eyes looking from Jet to Faye. Jet nodded.

"Hey now, I'm not saying _I'm _old" Faye said, pursing her lips. Spike sniggered. Faye glared at him.

"Listen, I know we said we needed a girl to help catch this bounty, but Ed, you're too young, ok? The guy is going to be at a bar where only adults are allowed. Where girls dance. Older girls" Jet said, scratching his bald head.

"Ok!" Ed said with a shrug, running off after Ein.

"Let's just get this over with" Spike mumbled. His face wore a bored expression that would make anyone fall asleep.

"I still don't see why_ I_ have to be the one to do it" Faye huffed.

"Because you're the only woman here" Spike said.

"Yup. I don't plan on dressing in drag… nobody would buy it" Jet said.

"Fine, but I'm getting a bigger cut of the reward than you two" Faye snapped.

"Now wait just a minute" Jet began, but Faye shook her head.

"No. It is _my_ body the men will be ogling all night. That man will probably try something with me, so I get the bigger share for my troubles" she said, and without waiting for a response, she left the lounge.

"Women" Jet said, rolling his eyes.

* * *

The next evening, Faye waited in the changing room. She had managed to get a gig at the strip club as a pole dancer, which was the bounty's choice of victims. The pig liked ordering a private lap dance and then taking advantage of the dancers. He had been charged with six accounts of sexual assault. If there was something that Faye hated, it was pigs like him.

There was a knock on the door and then a loud voice.

"You're on in ten minutes! Get dressed!"

Faye sighed. Showing her body off was nothing new to her, but dancing in front of dozens of horny men was something else. She didn't know that she would be able to do it. It made her feel dirty. Her communicator went off and she snatched it up.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Faye, Spike is going in to keep an eye out. If anything goes wrong and you can't handle it, he'll be there to help" Jet said.

"What?! No! I don't need Spike here!" Faye began to pace inside the small room. It was bad enough that she was nervous already; she didn't need Spike in there watching her too!

"No discussion" Jet said and hung up.

Faye groaned. She picked out a skimpy outfit… the only kind available, of course. She went for the black lace panties that made her feel like she had a constant wedgie, a matching lace bra that barely covered her breasts and six inch stiletto heels. This was… sexy. But no! Spike was going to be in there! He was going to see her like this… dancing on a pole! She felt the blood rush to her face. Even her yellow getup had been more decent than this… She saw the wigs hanging on a rack and went to inspect them. Should she wear one? Maybe the red one? Nah, she wasn't fond of ringlets. The purple one was just too flashy. Perhaps the blond one? Hell no. That might remind Spike of Julia and the last thing Faye wanted was for Spike to associate her and Julia in any way. Sighing, she decided that her natural black hair would have to do. She let it lose, mussing it up just enough. It was getting longer, brushing her shoulders. She had thought about cutting it, but decided that she would try it long for a change. Without much enthusiasm, she applied red lipstick and mascara. After applying eyeliner, she studied herself in the mirror.

"Damn, Faye, you look hot" she said to her reflection. She puckered her lips and blew a kiss to herself, winking.

There was a second knock on the door followed by "You're on! Get to it!"

Faye adjusted her boobs once more before stepping out of the room.

_You can do this_ _Faye_.

Immediately the music assaulted her ears. She had become so used to the smooth Jazz on the Bebop thanks to Jet, but this music was loud and obnoxious, reverberating through her ears. She stepped out into the stage and was relieved to see there were two other girls there as well. At least not all eyes would be focused on her. She scanned the smoky room for a sign of Spike and then slapped herself mentally. She was supposed to be looking for their target, not Spike. Hands shaking, she stepped out towards the pole and the men began to catcall and whistle at her. She swallowed the urge to puke. With great difficulty, she began to dance as sensually as she could around the pole in tune to the music.

And then she saw him. She would recognize his fuzzy hair anywhere. That jerk. He was sitting in one of the tables near the front, his chin propped in one hand, staring at her, a lazy smile on his lips. Faye tried hard to ignore him but couldn't. She could feel his eyes burning her.

_Focus, Faye! You need to catch the pig, not show off for Spike!_

And there he was, leering at her. The bounty. Well, at least he was looking at her. That was the whole point of this ordeal, wasn't it? To get him to be interested in her so she could get him alone and nab him. She winked at the pig and gave him a sultry smile. He grinned at her and then called out one of the waiters, whispering something in his ear. The waiter smiled and nodded, looking at Faye.

After the song was finished, the young man came up to Faye.

"The gentleman in the green suit would like a private dance" he said, giving her the key to one of the VIP rooms. Faye nodded curtly. She sauntered her way through the tables, making sure she passed by Spike. She sashayed her way to the lanky man, giving him one of her best smiles as he stared at her with that easy smile she hated and loved so much. She wanted to smack it off his handsome face. Instead, she kicked him under the table as she passed him, making him curse. She smiled with satisfaction

She went to the target's table and sat on the bounty's lap.

"So you want a private dance, babe?" she said in a low voice. The disgusting man nodded, staring at her breasts. She grabbed his tie and pulled on it, making him get to his feet. She beckoned him with her finger and he followed. Once alone in the VIP room, the music began again. Faye began to dance on the small platform in the middle of the room where the pole was rooted. She was nervous. This was a dangerous job because she was unable to carry her Glock with her. She had to rely on her fighting skills, her wit and lady luck. She had one trump card inside her bra, just in case. So far, the man had kept his hands to himself, but he was leering at her, his mouth half open. Gross!

"I want a lap dance" he commanded after the song finished.

"That's gonna cost ya extra" Faye said, smiling at him.

"Money is not a problem" he said. Faye climbed off the platform and made her way to him. She began to dance in front of him. He stretched his hand to touch her ass but she slapped it away.

"No touching allowed" she said.

"You want me to" he said, reaching for her again.

"No. Keep your hands to yourself" she snapped, moving away from him. He got to his feet and followed her.

"Don't act coy. Everyone knows you whores like this shit" he said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up against him.

"I said NO" Faye said, crushing his foot with her six inch heel. The man cried out in pain and released her. She took her chance and punched him in the face. She kicked him with one long leg, making him stumble backwards.

"You bitch!" he snarled. He lunged at her. Because of the small space, Faye was unable to get away quickly enough. He grabbed her wrist again and twisted her arm behind her back, making her cry out in pain. He flipped her over and bent her over the platform. He gripped her other wrist with his free hand and pinned it to her back too, gripping both wrists in one hand.

"I'm gonna make this real painful" he breathed in her ear.

_Fuck, this is bad_, she thought, squirming and struggling to get away. She felt his free hand trying to get a grip on her panties.

_Oh no you don't, buddy…_

She head-butted the man, the back of her head colliding painfully with his nose. She used the platform to push herself and her assailant backwards. He released her and she kicked his groin with her heel. Just then Spike flew in through the door, his Jericho pulled out.

"Spike!" Faye cried out in relief. She ran and hid behind him.

"One false move and I'll blow your head off" Spike said in a low voice.

"Bounty hunters? I should have known. Bitch could make you a lot of money as a prostitute, you know" the man said. Spike shot him in the leg. The man writhed around, howling in pain.

"Did he do anything to you?" Spike asked.

"No… but he certainly tried, the pig" Faye said. She pulled out the small spray bottle hidden inside her bra and sprayed the man, knocking him out instantly. Spike cuffed him and turned to Faye. Suddenly remembering what she looked like, she blushed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Here, wear this" he said, shrugging his blue coat off and handing it to her. She blinked once before taking it.

"Thanks" she said. It was heavy and warm and smelled like Spike. Spike's scent was a unique blend of cigarettes, body soap and… well, Spike. Her skin broke out in goose bumps as she buttoned it up.

"Ready? Let's go" he said, dragging the limp man with them. They made their way out of the club and waited for the police to get there. Spike took out a cigarette and offered one to Faye who accepted gratefully.

"I don't want to do this ever again" she said after taking a drag.

"Yeah. It's too dangerous. Men are pigs" Spike said, leaning against the brick wall.

"Most of them, anyway" Faye said.

"Especially when you look like that" Spike said, avoiding her eyes.

"Is that a compliment from Spike Spiegel?" Faye said, punching his arm playfully. Spike shrugged and didn't answer.

"Ugh, these cops are taking forever" she said, stomping her foot. It was a bad idea. With her six inch heels, she lost her footing and almost fell over, but Spike's strong arms stopped her. She was pressed up against him. She could feel his heartbeat. She was afraid to look up into his face, but when he didn't release her, she had no choice. Slowly, tentatively, she turned her green eyes up. His mismatched eyes were searching her face. She swore she could feel him come closer…closer… closer still. She could feel his breath fanning her face. She licked her lips and closed her eyes…

Suddenly the sirens blasted through the night, startling them and making them pull away. Faye cleared her throat.

"Thanks, cowboy" she said, scratching her head and clearing her throat.

"Yup" he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

* * *

She hesitated for a moment before knocking on his door. She no longer wore the stripper outfit, and she was freshly showered, her face devoid of any make up. He opened the door a few seconds later.

"What?" he said.

"Oh, um… I just thought you might want this back. Thanks again" she said, holding his blue coat out to him.

"Right. No problem" he said, taking it from her hands.

"Well… good night" she said.

"Night." They stood in silence for a few seconds before he closed the door without another word.

Faye nodded and turned to leave. Fine. If they were going to ignore the elephant in the room, that was ok with her. She didn't know what she had been expecting, really. Yeah, she and Spike were friends. But things hadn't changed that much between them. Not really. The only thing that had changed was that he no longer closed up about his past and was a little friendlier. But he was still the same obnoxious Spike she knew. Sharing a few intimate conversations didn't mean anything. And whatever the hell had happened earlier… whatever she _thought_ was going to happen… was nothing but her imagination. Spike wasn't going to kiss her. He never would. For some strange reason, the realization that Spike would never want her, Faye Valentine, made her feel glum. Sighing, she made her way back to her room and threw herself on her bed, not bothering to turn on the lights. It was late anyway.

_Spike Spiegel, get out of my head… before you find your way into my heart…_

* * *

**A/N: **_Haha! I am a mean author… I will torture you with tantalizing Spike/Faye moments for now lol. _

**Jet: **Next Episode… _**Contemplation.**_

**Edward: **What is it about, Jet-person?

**Jet: **I don't know…you're gonna have to find out!

**Faye: **I hope it involves us getting loads of cash!

**Spike: **Or beef…


	14. Session 37: Contemplation I

**A/N:** _Lol, sorry guys! I promise more (Spaye? Fike?) goodness in the coming chapters. I'm just having too much fun making them go through frustrating and awkward moments! This chapter is a little bit serious, with a lighthearted twist at the end, so I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

"Freeze!"

The command boomed through the night, piercing the silence like a sharp knife through tender flesh.

"Put your hands in the air!"

Two cops, a man and woman, were aiming their guns at three figures half hidden by shadows. One of them, tall and lanky, had a briefcase in his hand. They all five people remained silent and frozen until suddenly, one of the three people in the shadows stepped forward into the dim light provided by the street lamps. It was woman with long, red hair. The cops tensed up and cocked their guns.

"I said don't move!" the male cop thundered.

"Please, officers, there's no need for this" the woman said calmly as she lifted her hands in front of her in surrender.

"All of you place your hands above your head and step into the light" the woman cop ordered.

"Fuck this!" the man with the briefcase shouted, and he bolted. Immediately the male cop shot him in the knee, crippling him. He howled in pain and writhed in agony. The distraction had served its purpose. The man standing next to the redhead had lunged at the cop and had knocked the gun from his hands. The female cop shot the assailant but missed, and before she could shoot again, the red-haired woman was upon her, attacking with surprising speed and agility despite the tight dress and high heels.

"Gwen! Call for back up!" the male cop shouted as he fended off his attacker.

"Would if I could, Robinson, kind of busy here!" the female cop said as she blocked a kick from the red haired woman.

Then there was a shot fired and Gwen turned to watched in horror as the bullet went through Robinson's head and he fell backwards. It felt like it was happening in slow motion for her. He was falling… falling like a mannequin. She felt bile make its way up her throat and into her mouth and she struggled hard not to puke, and then she heard another roar of thunder and she felt pain sear into her back and she was falling… falling… falling until she knew no more…

The black-haired man stepped over the writhing coward and shot him point blank.

"Grab the briefcase and let's go" he said to the woman.

The redhead did as she was told and together, they walked away to the sound of the police communicator going off in the police car.

"Nemesis… do you think the Blue Serpent will think it was us who killed the messenger?" Johanna asked as they climbed into the aircraft's cockpit.

Nemesis remained silent.

"No. We never saw him. We were never here" he said after a while.

"Are you sure?"

"He was a coward. They'll think he attacked the cops in a panic and they had a shootout." He turned his silver eyes to her. "We never saw him. We were never here" he repeated and Johanna nodded.

She looked down into the city as their craft lifted from the ground and began to speed away.

* * *

"… and the shooters are still at large. If you have any tips or information, please call the hotline at—"

Jet turned the TV off.

"Great, more nut jobs out on the loose" he sighed.

"I wonder why they didn't put a bounty on the shooters." Faye said, shoving cheesy chips into her mouth.

"Because they don't know who did it" Spike answered, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

They were on the Bebop, cruising aimlessly through space, no destination in mind.

"Where did it happen, again?" Faye asked, crumpling the empty chip bag and tossing it in the garbage bin next to the yellow couch. She licked her fingers clean.

"Europa, I believe they said" Jet replied.

"Edward is hungry! Edward wants more chips and dip!"

Ein took the empty dip bowl between his teeth and walked over to Jet who took it from him.

He grumbled. "At least we have beef this time. I'll make dinner later, ok?" he said to Ed as he got to his feet. Edward squealed and jumped on his back, hanging on to him like a monkey. Ein followed them.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room once they were gone. Faye licked her lips and picked up a magazine, flipping through the pages but not really looking. She refused to feel intimidated by Spike, though why she would feel this way was beyond her. She tried hard to ignore the man in the room, but her eyes wandered over to him of their own accord. He was lying on the couch as was his wont, one arm draped over his face, the other resting casually on his stomach. She wanted to punch him, if only just to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Spike—" Faye began but he cut her off.

"No"

"_No_? You don't even know what I was going to say!" Faye huffed.

"Whatever it is, my answer is no. I don't want to talk, I want to sleep" he said.

Faye opened her mouth to say something, closed it, opened it, and closed it once more. She didn't know what to say after all.

"Whatever then" she said, and got to her feet. "Not like I care anyway."

She sauntered away. She was feeling trapped on the Bebop. She wanted to touch down somewhere and go out, have a drink… maybe play the ponies. She felt like a whore admitting this, but she also wanted the attention of a man… anybody would do, just to get Spike off her mind. Where was Andy when you needed him?

* * *

"They didn't say it on the news, but we think it was Nemesis. Of course the ISSP doesn't want to admit that we've had absolutely no leads since his escape" Bob said to Jet.

He was in his bonsai room, having gotten rid of Ed, talking to his friend through the communicator. They were whispering to each other so that neither of them would be caught. Jet didn't want Spike and Faye getting any crazy ideas, and Bob could lose his job if he was caught giving classified information to people.

"Why do you think it was him?" Jet asked.

"Well, Gwen, the survivor, said she saw him, though she says she can't be sure. She may have been confused. He changed his appearance, but she thinks she caught a glimpse of the woman's tattoo on her calf; a Black Dragon. From what we know, Nemesis had a woman waiting for him when he escaped, and she had a similar tattoo. It's all speculation at this time" Bob sighed.

"But who exactly is Nemesis?" Jet asked, lighting a cigarette.

"I don't know a whole lot myself, I'd have to go into some private files to find out the whole thing but, from what I know, Nemesis and his twin brother—"

"You mean Vicious?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Well, they were sons and heirs of the Black Mamba. Remember him, Jet? He was known as a ruthless business man, hence his name"

"Yeah, I remember him. Built himself an empire producing tobacco right?"

"That's right. Well, turns out he didn't just deal with tobacco. He also dealt with narcotics, especially Bloody Eye. He had good connections with various syndicates. One day, the wife decides to elope with the head honcho of the Red Dragon syndicate at the time, Jiang Yenrai"

"What?!"

Realizing he had shouted, Jet lowered his voice again, not wanting to attract the attention of his crew. "Was he related to Mao Yenrai?"

"Yep, he was Mao's older brother." Bob pulled out a brown bag and began unwrapping his lunch. "So the wench runs away with him, leaving her two sons and husband behind. As you can imagine, this did not sit well with her husband, and, being a man of power himself, he pulled some strings and got the wife back by force a year later or something like that."

Jet mulled the information over in his head as Bob took a bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly.

"Well, you know how the syndicate works. They saw this as an act of war against them and they went right at it. It wasn't a bloody war, at least, not always. They cut off all of his connections with syndicate allies of the Red Dragon. This was a heavy financial blow for the Black Mamba. Already under suspicion and investigation by the ISSP, his business steadily declined because corporations didn't want to make contracts with him in case he was dirty. Buncha hypocrites if you ask me. They all knew long before shit hit the fan that he was dealing with the syndicates and trafficking narcotics." He took another bite. "Everyone has to save their own ass first, ya know? Anyway, eventually Black Mamba and his family went bankrupt and Jiang personally went to collect his lover and there was a shootout and everything. Black Mamba killed his own wife and Jiang killed him. Nemesis and Vicious escaped" Bob finished. He set his sandwich aside and took a swig from the soda can.

"Jesus. How old were the kids?" Jet asked.

"Can't be sure… around fifteen or sixteen. Anyway, Nemesis killed Jian shortly after"

"Is that what he was imprisoned for?"

Bob shook his head and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. "Nope. Turns out the kid got a taste for blood and vengeance. He went on to kill members of various syndicates afterwards. It was years later that he was caught after murdering another head honcho."

They remained silent for a moment, each immersed in their own thoughts.

"Ironic that his brother wanted to become the leader of the Red Dragon, no? It seems fishy. I don't know but it seems to me that there's more to it than what we know" Bob continued.

"Yeah. The water runs deep with this one" Jet grumbled.

"Well, gotta go now. I have a shit ton of paper work to finish and I don't want to stay longer than I have to. My wife will kill me if I'm late for dinner. Homemade lasagna and all that. Take care Jet" Bob said, crushing his cigarette.

"You too, Bob. Thanks" Jet replied. The screen went black and Jet sighed crossing his arms.

So Nemesis _was_ Vicious's brother after all. Well, it was none of their business, so he wouldn't mention it to Spike, lest the young man want to do something stupid… again.

* * *

"Gwen, you understand why we are doing this, don't you?" the man in the grey suit asked siting behind his desk. He rubbed his temples and exhaled.

"Yes sir" she answered. Her head was held high, eyes staring straight ahead, hands firmly clasped behind her back. "I disobeyed orders and my carelessness cost… it cost my partner's life." She hated the way her voice wavered. The loss of her partner and best friend hurt deeply, but she would not shed tears. Not here. Not in front of these people.

"We do not blame you for what happened to Robinson, Gwen. You are being suspended for an indefinite amount of time because you disobeyed orders and failed to follow protocol. I'm sorry. You may go" the man said. Gwen nodded once and turned to leave.

"Gwen… take some time to find yourself, won't you? Don't blame yourself or beat yourself up. And just… just unwind, ok?" the older man said gently.

"Yes sir" she said, and then left without another word.

She undressed in the locker room. She would no longer need her police uniform and frankly, she didn't want to see it for a long, long time. She didn't care that she was "suspended" (though that basically meant she was fired and would be receiving her severance pay in a few days and then her unemployment checks in the mail thereafter). None of it mattered. She pulled her white blouse down over her head. What mattered was that Robinson, Trey Robinson, her best friend and partner, was dead. Had been dead now for almost three weeks. She had been unable to save him. She had been helpless and stupid and overpowered and she had been able to do _nothing_ despite all her training. She had even gotten herself shot too.

Shaking her head, she shrugged into her black blazer and tied her light brown hair into a ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her blue eyes stared blankly back at her, burdened with bags underneath; the telltale sign of her insomnia.

Once she was aboard her tiny aircraft (a gift from Robinson for her birthday five years prior) she set it to autopilot and set the destination to Mars. The ISSP may not give her their support anymore, but she was going to find out exactly who had killed her friend. And she would make them pay.

* * *

"Edward, settle down already!" Jet roared as the red-haired child jumped across the couch and the chair and the table. She was laughing and shrieking with delight after Ein who barked happily. She ran away and Jet grumbled under his breath.

Well, it was alright. So long as she stayed out of the control room, everything would be o—

The Bebop gave a sudden lurch and their speed increased.

"ED!" Jet thundered as he got to his feet.

"What the hell is going on?!" Faye screeched, storming out of her room in her bathrobe, face covered in a green face mask and hair wrapped inside a white towel. Spike came up behind her and when she turned to look at him, he yelped and jumped back in mock fear of her. She glared at him.

"Don't spring up on people looking like that, Valentine, it's not healthy" Spike said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "What's going on Jet?"

"Edward, I think she—"

There was a sudden, sickening crash and they all toppled over. Jet slid across the floor and bumped his balding head against a wall. Spike too had slid across the floor and smashed into the metal wall behind him. Faye came crashing down right after him. She landed on him, one knee barely missing his crotch by an inch. Her bathrobe had opened up and Spike's face was pressed between her bare breasts. She swatted at his head and pulled his curls, shrieking in indignation for him to get away and not look at her, though poor Spike had nowhere to go and couldn't see anything but pale, bare flesh. He tried to push her away from him but in his attempt, he had grabbed her breasts and Faye shrieked like a banshee as she tried to scramble out of Spike's lap, humiliation burning in her green face. But the Bebop was still lopsided and Jet cursed and Faye shrieked and Spike struggled under attack and Edward came crawling in and saw Spike and Faye and she turned red at the nakedness of it all so she went back from whence she came. Then there came a loud voice overhead… a police intercom?

"Is everyone alright in there?"

It was a woman. Jet got to his feet and made his way to the control room. Spike and Faye had stopped struggling and listened. Faye had her robe clasped tightly over her chest now, but if she climbed off of Spike now, he would get to see a lot more than her tits and that was just not going to happen. He shifted uncomfortably under her and she felt something hard pressing against her thigh and her eyes grew as round as saucers but she dared not say anything though she almost died of a heart attack when she realized what it was. Spike kept his eyes firmly locked upwards, hair an even fuzzier mess than normal, cheeks red from the beating he had just endured at Faye's hands, breathing slowly.

They heard Jet say something through the communicator and then, a few minutes later, the Bebop was right side up again. Faye scrambled to her feet and ran away before Spike could say anything. Jet kept talking to the woman through the communicator. Spike looked down at himself and cursed loudly, retreating to his own room before anyone else could see him.

"Uh oh. Ed has a feely-feeling she is in a trouble-bubble again" she said to Ein as she hung from the ceiling. The gravity was suddenly disabled which meant someone was coming onto the Bebop. "Yay! A visitor!" Ed said happily to Ein who was now floating his way up to her.

* * *

**Faye: **Edward! What did you do?!

**Jet: **Just quiet down, this is getting good!

**Spike: **Next episode…_**Contemplation part II**_

**Edward *whispering*: **Why were you guys naked?


	15. Session 37: Contemplation II

**A/N: **_Lol, I'm glad you guys liked the Faye/Spike silliness in the last chapter; I had a lot of fun writing it! I know the story involving Vicious, Nemesis and the Red Dragon is a little confusing at the moment, but it will make sense later on, I promise!_

_I was thinking of adding a sort of timeline of the Vicious/Nemesis backstory as a sort of side note in one of the chapters to make it clearer… what do you guys think? It will include a little timeline of Spike's backstory as well, as we were never given much as far as his history prior to the Red Dragons. Of course, this would all be my own thoughts on how he and Vicious came to be part of the syndicate and how they became friends and in no way is backed up by Cowboy Bebop… so let me know if you want to read it and I'll add it as an Omake Chapter of sorts or something lol._

* * *

The members of the Bebop were gathered at the lounge, staring at the stranger. She was a beautiful woman with light brown hair and blue eyes. She appeared older than Spike and Faye, but not much. She wore a black blazer over a white blouse and jeans. Her forehead sported a long, red gash. Jet grimaced at the sight of it. She took a sip from her coffee mug.

"Listen, I don't want to have to go through the insurance company and fill out all that tedious paper work" she said after a moment, setting her cup down on the metal center table.

"That's all nice and good, but we don't have the kind of cash at hand that will cover the damages to your aircraft" Jet said, crossing his large arms over his chest. "I'll barely be able to fix the Bebop"

"Are you a mechanic?" she asked. The Bebop gave an ominous lurch.

"Yes I am" Jet replied.

"Then why don't we make a deal? Why don't you repair my ship and we'll call it even? I'll crash here until you finish" she said with a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Jet turned to look at his crew members. Spike shrugged and took a long drag from his cigarette, arms crossed behind his head. "I don't mind" he said.

Faye looked up from what she was doing: sewing a small tear in Spike's blue coat she had made as they had been struggling on the floor. She nodded and smiled at the woman. "I don't see why not"

Ed was already curled up next to the stranger like a cat, sleeping.

"Alright. Sounds like a fair deal" Jet said.

"What's your name again?" Faye asked her.

"Gwen. Gwen Hayden" the woman answered.

Faye raised her eyebrows. Her name sounded familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Well, nice to meet you Gwen, though I wish we had met under nicer circumstances," Jet began, "I'm Jet Black. That's Faye Valentine, Spike Spiegel and Edward. I hope you're ready for the Bebop because it's always a bumpy ride here"

"I'm good at riding" Gwen said, then blushed furiously when she realized how that sounded out loud. Jet cleared his throat.

Spike and Faye looked at each other, and then Faye blushed and turned her nose up at him. She was still mortified by their earlier predicament.

"I'll start working on your ship tomorrow… if we make it. I'm setting our course to Earth… Gonna have to pay Doohan a visit. Well, let's show you to your room then" Jet said, getting to his feet and taking the empty mug from her. Gwen got to her feet too and followed, bidding the others good night.

"You should have that cut cleaned" they heard Jet say as he led the way down the corridor. The woman mumbled something but they were now out of earshot to hear what she had said.

"I saw something there" Faye whispered to Spike, unable to contain her curiosity. Spike nodded.

"Yup. Definite sparks" he said.

"Hmm"

"What?"

"Nothing. I just think it'd be nice to have another woman on the ship. There's only so much crap I can take from working with two troglodytes every single day, you know"

"She's the one from then news the other day, isn't she?" Spike asked, ignoring her gibe.

"Oh, yeah! That's where it's from! I thought she sounded familiar but I couldn't remember why. Her partner was shot dead, wasn't he?" Faye answered.

"Yeah" Spike said.

"Hmm" Faye said again and lit a cigarette.

"Stop saying that, you're getting annoying" Spike muttered. Faye glared at him and threw the blue coat at his face before storming off.

* * *

"Ow" Gwen murmured. Jet was dabbing at her forehead with a ball of cotton soaked in alcohol.

"Sorry. I'm almost done" he said.

She was uncomfortably aware that his face was extremely close to hers. Still, it was fascinating to Gwen how a man so big... big but not fat… could be so gentle. His hands could probably crush with minimal effort, yet here he was, tending to her wounds as gentle as a lamb. He placed two butterfly bandages on her forehead to seal the wound.

"All done" he said, straightening up.

"Jet-person likes the Gwen-person" said a familiar, gleeful voice.

"Huh? Edward! Don't sneak up on people like that!" Jet grumbled, turning away from Gwen. Gwen didn't know what to say so she became interested in the barren walls of the room.

"Love… dove… kitchen-glove!" Edward sang, standing on her hands. "Love is in the air! Jet doesn't have hair! Pretty lady… oh baby!" she squealed in delight as she left the room on her hands, followed by Ein.

"Don't listen to her, she's eccentric" Jet mumbled, avoiding Gwen's eyes. She laughed nervously.

"Heh… kids… definitely a handful" she said, scratching her arm.

"But this one… she's a genius. But she fits more in a circus on Mars than anywhere else" Jet grumbled. "Well, except the Bebop. It's like a freak show here. Crazy girl."

But Gwen wasn't fooled. She could hear the tenderness in his voice; the way a father always talks about his children.

"Is she yours?" Gwen asked curiously.

"What?! No! No way! I don't have any children! She's just a stray we picked up on Earth" Jet explained, rubbing his bald head. Gwen raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, I see. I don't have children either. But maybe one day…" she said wistfully.

"Well… good night Gwen. Again, I'm sorry for everything" Jet said.

"It's alright. It wasn't anyone's fault. These things happen… thank you for letting me crash here" she said.

"Least I could do after wrecking your craft"

"Ah, well, you're gonna fix it so it's ok" she smiled. "Good night."

Jet looked at her one last time before walking out of the room.

* * *

"No. I don't want to" Faye said stubbornly, crossing one long leg over the other. A week after the crash, the Bebopers and company were on Earth. In Doohan's shop, to be exact.

"You have to!" Jet growled.

"Do not! I have pulled more than my share these past few weeks!" Faye shot back. "As a matter of fact, I think I've been on the best behavior out of all of us!"

Jet couldn't disagree.

"Well then, you do it Spike" the big man said turning to the sleeping form on the couch. Though he wasn't actually sleeping… just pretending. Jet had caught him peering at them from the corner of one eye a second ago. "I know you're awake!"

"I don't want to" the lanky man said.

"What?! What do you mean, you don't want to? You have to!"

"Not interested" Spike said and turned on his side, giving Jet his back.

"I swear, one day I'm going to kick you all off, you ingrates!" Jet roared.

"Why don't _you_ do it, Jet?" Faye drawled, completely undaunted by his outburst. "You almost never go on jobs with us! You're always the one orchestrating the missions but never do any of the actual hunting!"

"What are you trying to say?!"

Faye lifted her chin defiantly and answered "That you don't do any hunting and it's your turn!"

"Um… guys?"

Spike, Faye and Jet turned to the woman who had been quietly watching the exchange.

"What are you guys talking about? Are you bounty-hunters?"

"Yeah… and these lazy bums don't want to go work!" Jet said, rubbing his balding head.

"Well… it's been a few days since I left the ship, so maybe… maybe I can help" Gwen offered.

"What? No, you don't have to, honestly" Jet said quickly.

"It's ok, I don't mind. I can help whoever is going. I'm not a liability! Don't mean to boast but, I was one of the best cops in my unit" Gwen said proudly. Truth was she was tired of not going out, and being cooped up on the ship only served to make her continue feeling sorry for herself. She was a strong woman and she hated feeling so vulnerable. She had mourned Robinson and now it was time to move on. He wouldn't have wanted her to wallow in grief and self-pity. Listening to their argument made her miss Trey more than ever because it reminded her of their friendship, but it was alright. She enjoyed their comradeship. She wanted to go out on a mission, whatever kind of mission, to fill the void of losing her partner.

"See, Jet? Gwen is kind enough to offer you her help. You should totally go for it. You need the exercise anyway" Faye said.

"Are you calling me fat?!"

"No, but you need to keep that leg in shape. It's been a year and I see how it sometimes bothers you still" Faye said, a gentle note in her voice.

"Only in cold weather" Jet grumbled.

"So you're going?" Faye asked brightly.

"Yeah… yeah, I guess I'll go" Jet finally consented.

"Good. See you two later!" Faye said.

Gwen got to her feet and followed Jet. Before stepping out the circular door, Jet turned back and narrowed his eyes at Faye but didn't say anything. She waved and smiled at him sweetly.

"What are you doing, Valentine?" Spike asked, turning on his side so that he was facing her and not the back of the couch.

"Nothing… why?" she asked innocently. Spike snorted. Faye was anything but innocent.

"Don't go playing cupid. You don't know that Jet likes her or that she likes Jet"

"I'm not playing cupid. Besides, you can't talk about things you know nothing of. You wouldn't know if someone likes you even if they punched you in the face" Faye snapped. She got to her feet and stormed to her room.

"If they liked me, they wouldn't punch me in the face!" Spike yelled after her. He would too know if someone liked him… wouldn't he? Ah well, whatever.

Faye came back, placing a ridiculously big sun hat on her head and dark sunglasses over her eyes. She was wearing tiny jean shorts and a white tank top.

"Where are you going?" Spike asked.

"Out. I want to visit the casino. I'm feeling lucky tonight" she said.

"You never learn, do you? Besides, there are no casinos in these parts. At least, not any good ones. Isn't it too early to go gamble your life away, anyway?" Spike sat up and yawned.

"What's it to you" she snapped. She was still irritated with him.

"Nothing at all" he shot back. She left without another word.

It was early afternoon and the sun was bright, the sky clear, the breeze warm… what a perfect day to go annoy Faye Valentine.

"We'll be back Ed!" he called out but received no answer. He shrugged into his blue coat and set off to find the shrew.

* * *

"So is he dangerous?" Gwen asked as they waited in a pool bar.

"Nah. Small fry. But we need the money. Or rather, I need the money to get a part that I need for your ship" he said. The bartender filled his glass with dark liquid again.

"Oh, I see" Gwen said.

Jet offered her a cigarette and she shook her head. "I don't smoke."

They stayed quiet for a while. Jet didn't mind. He stole looks at her once in a while. She was really quite beautiful. There was a certain frailness about her that made him want to hold her and protect her. Why that was the case he didn't know. He had always been the caring type.

"How old are you Jet?" she asked after a moment.

"Thirty seven… you?"

"A man should never ask a woman's age, you know" she said but smiled at him. "I'm thirty four."

The door to the cantina opened and in came none other than their bounty, looking like a sorry excuse for a human being.

"There he is" Jet whispered. "Don't look now!"

"What do we do?" Gwen asked. Bounty hunting was new for her, and she didn't know how to approach it. With the ISSP, she had to follow protocols and orders but bounty hunting was all about catching the criminal in whatever way you could without killing him. It was… exciting!

* * *

**Faye:** "I carry a smile when I'm broken in two… I'm tremblin' inside… And nobody knows it but me. Yeah, my heart is callin' you… And nobody knows it but me." Next Episode… _**Nobody Knows**_.


	16. Session 38: Nobody Knows

A/N: _Hi guys! Thank you for your input, and I'm happy you enjoy my story! I think you guys will enjoy this chapter lol!_

_As far as the Omake Chapter I mentioned previously, it seems I didn't explain myself properly. It isn't going to have an actual story to it… it isn't going to have any dialogue and it won't really read as part of the fic or anything. It is just going to be a timeline-like entry with a few notes here and there… and it probably won't happen until my fic progresses more into the plot! _

_I may write a fic dedicated solely to Spike, Vicious, Nemesis, Julia and their back stories when I'm done with this one, but it will be a story all of its own._

* * *

"She's lying you know" Spike said to the three old men at the bar. They were playing poker with Faye and were about to lose their meager belongings to her. She glared at him.

"Is that right?" the one wearing a sun hat asked.

"Yup"

"Now, now missy, don't go cheat'n these old folks just 'cause yer pretty" the one with the yellow shirt said.

"Just get on with it!" the one with a red and white cap snapped.

"Faye, you should be ashamed of yourself" Spike said, lighting a cigarette.

"Spike, get out of here!" Faye raged.

"Don't trust her, men" Spike said.

The three old men looked at each other. "I trust the nice fellow. Women are always deceivers when they know they look good. Let's go boys" the one with the sun hat said. They grabbed their table and walked away with it, leaving Faye and Spike behind. Spike snorted.

"Spike! What a jerk! I almost had them!" Faye said.

"I know. Someone had to save the poor saps"

"Ugh! Don't butt into my business!" she snapped.

"You whine too much" Spike replied. "Let's get out of here"

"And go where?" Faye muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's a mom-and-pops joint around here somewhere, if I remember right. It's hot and I feel like drinking something nice and cold" Spike said.

"Fine. You're paying" Faye said. Spike rolled his eyes but followed her out of the seedy cantina. Really, this was no place for women. Especially women like Faye. But women like Faye could take care of themselves and were not daunted by smelly old men. In fact, it was the men who were in danger when she was around.

The day was hotter than Spike had first anticipated. He shrugged out of his coat, rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned his shirt to let the breeze cool him down. At least Faye had had the sense to dress appropriately. He couldn't help but stare at her butt. And hell, could he be blamed? He was a man and she was wearing those tiny jean-shorts that barely covered her ass and that white tank top revealed a whole lot of cleavage. And her high heels made her legs seem like they went all the way up to her goddamn neck.

Spike sighed. He really should stop checking out the shrew.

"What are you looking at Spike?" she asked as she looked back at him. She narrowed her eyes and he shrugged, swinging his coat over his left shoulder. She fell into step beside him.

"Are we almost there? It's hot" she said.

"Almost" he replied. Without thinking, without knowing why, he swung his right arm over her shoulders. He felt her tense up and he probably should have removed his arms and blamed the sun frying his brain, but if it made Faye uncomfortable, then it was alright. After all, he was here to annoy her, right?

But she didn't do anything. She didn't push him away; she didn't bite his arm off. She didn't even say anything. No sarcastic remark, no vicious comment… nothing. Instead, she took the ridiculously huge sun hat of hers and reached out to place it on his head.

"Maybe that will keep your fuzz under control" she said. Then she surprised him further by sliding her arm around his waist. They walked like that for a while, neither of them saying a word.

"I hate you, you know" she said, but there was no malice in her voice.

"Feeling's mutual, dear" he said easily.

It was surprising how right this felt. How much it made sense…

But soon they reached the little restaurant and she disengaged herself from him and stepped inside first.

"Not too shabby, eh?" she asked, taking a seat in one of the empty stools. Spike sat next to her. She was avoiding his eyes.

"You better not bleed my wallet dry" he said. She finally looked at him and her eyes didn't hold the look he was used to. It wasn't the look of the cynical Faye. No, her emerald eyes looked innocent and frail and made him think of the little girl Faye in the video they had watched a long time ago. This was the real Faye.

"You lost me my booty. You're buying me whatever I want" she said. "So I will take the waffle sundae with extra toppings" she said to the older woman behind the counter.

"That's huge! You're not going to finish it all!" Spike said. "We'll share it"

"You just don't want to pay for two sundaes! You're so cheap" Faye drawled.

"You would bleed me dry if I let you, you blood-sucking demon" Spike shot back.

"That's right, so you better watch your back!" Faye laughed.

Moments later the woman returned with the sundae and two spoons. "Enjoy" she said and went to the back room, leaving Spike and Faye alone. Faye looked around as ate a spoonful of ice cream.

"How barren. How boring. There's nothing here" she said.

"Yup. Can't imagine anyone wanting to stay here by choice" Spike said.

Faye reached for the cherry on top but Spike got it first and ate it.

"Spike!" she raged. "I was going to eat that!"

"Too late" he replied, shoveling another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

"Selfish jerk!"

She took the waffle from the plate and slapped him with it, covering him with ice cream and chocolate syrup and colorful candy sprinkles. She laughed at the stunned look on his face and then squealed and tried to scramble off the stool when he got to his feet and grabbed the bowl. He caught her wrist in his hand and pulled her in.

"No! Spike, don't do it!" she shrieked amidst fits of laughter. But he did. He smeared the bowl of ice cream all over her face. She gasped for air and laughed, spluttering the sweet mesh out of her mouth. "Spike!"

"Payback is sweet" he said.

"Look at this mess" she said, wiping the ice cream from her face. "Pay up and let's get out of here before we get in trouble!"

After throwing a few notes on the counter, Spike followed Faye out of the little restaurant.

"Ugh, now I'm all sticky" she whined.

"Serves you right" Spike said.

"What now?" she asked, stretching her arms over her head.

"I guess we head back home and hope Jet and Gwen got the bounty" Spike said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I guess so" Faye said. He caught her looking at him and she blushed, turning away.

"What goes on behind those eyes, Faye Valentine?" he asked softly.

"Nothing. And don't talk to me like that. It makes me feel…" but she trailed off.

"Makes you feel what?"

"It makes me feel like…" She looked up at him, scanning his face. She hesitated for a moment before finally replying "It annoys me"

"Liar"

"Whatever, Spike. You know nothing. Your charm doesn't work on me. I'm not one of the floozies you have scattered all over the galaxy, you know" she said loftily, starting to walk away. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Hey! What's the big idea?" she said, her eyes flashing angrily.

Fuck it. He wanted to. And if he was reading the signs correctly, he knew she wanted him to. He bent his head down and crushed her lips with his. A small yelp of surprise escaped her but she was kissing him back seconds later, parting her lips under his.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he slithered his arms around her waist, lifting her from the ground so that her toes barely touched it. She tangled her hands in his hair.

"Spike…" she murmured against his lips.

"Mmm?" he said, covering her mouth with his again.

Then she pulled away. "Spike!" she said, breaking free from his embrace. "What are you doing?!"

"It's very obvious what _we_ were doing" he answered.

"Why?" she asked, slightly out of breath. "Why did you do that?"

He shrugged.

"That's not an answer"

"I don't know why, Faye, ok?" he said. She was making him feel uncomfortable. Or maybe it was that he was afraid that this was going to change their relationship. He didn't want a girlfriend. And he certainly didn't want to be Faye's boyfriend. It would be too weird. Dating a comrade was always trouble. Besides, he still loved Julia. He would always love Julia. It felt like he was betraying her memory. Suddenly his good mood was gone.

"Sorry I kissed you" he said, shoving his hands into his pockets again. He began to walk away.

"Sorry you…?" Faye shook her head as she watched him walk away, taking a tiny part of her with him.

* * *

"So you caught him, huh?" Spike said over his bowl of bell peppers sans beef.

"Yup. Easy as pie. Finally got enough to buy that piece I needed" Jet said. "Where's Faye? I haven't seen her"

Spike shrugged.

Jet groaned. "Did you two get into a fight again?"

"No!" Spike said defensively. "Where's Gwen?"

"No idea. Said she wanted to do some shopping and stuff" Jet answered.

Hours later, Faye came into the Bebop, stepping over Ed's sleeping form near the door. It was way past midnight and it appeared that everyone was asleep. Or so she thought. She bumped into Jet as she walked down the corridor to her room.

"Hey, Faye. Hadn't seen you since this afternoon" he said. "Where've you been?"

"Oh, just out and about. Did you and Gwen catch the bounty? Are we leaving soon?"

"Yes, we caught him. And we are leaving in about a day or so… why?" Jet asked. He wasn't sure if it was a trick of the dim light or what, but she seemed down; her eyes seemed to be a little red and puffy… like she'd been crying.

She sighed. "Just ready to get out of here, that's all. Nothing good ever happens on Earth."

Jet watched her as she left and wondered what had happened now to make her so sad. Ah well. Women were complicated and it wasn't his place to try and pry information from her.

* * *

Spike heard her close the door to her room. So she was back. Good.

He felt like an asshole for what he had done to her. He hadn't meant to be such a jerk about it. Besides, it was Faye… she was a tough girl. That girl had thick skin and a simple kiss wasn't going to affect her. Hell, she probably thought Andy was a better kisser. He still couldn't believe she had slept with that dope, though it really wasn't any of his business. Why, he _didn't_ care that Andy's hands had touched the silkiness of her skin. He _didn't_ care that Andy had seen her naked. And it _didn't_ bother him that Andy the imbecile had kissed her velvet lips.

Speaking of lips, he remembered the way she had looked after she had pulled away from him; face flushed, lips red and a little swollen from their kiss, her eyes as big as a deer's. He had wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her again but instead, he had let his memory of Julia overpower him. He had sworn to himself he was going to let her go in peace… that he would not be shackled by the past. That Julia's memory would not enslave him, but it seemed he had lied to himself. And again, he couldn't help himself in comparing the two women.

Kissing Julia had always been a sweet experience. Her kisses were always soft and tender. Her delicate lips were warm and inviting and giving. But remembering Julia's kisses was death. Why was he holding on to her still? She was gone. Dead. He couldn't help her anymore and it only made him feel guilty.

But kissing Faye was nothing like that. Kissing Faye was fire. Her lips took as much as they gave. Her kisses were rough and intoxicating. The velvety flesh was not only inviting but demanding. Her kisses were life. Kissing her meant living. And kissing her was dangerous. He was playing a dangerous game that yielded no winners in the end.

"If you play with fire long enough… you're gonna get burned" he muttered to himself.

Ah, hell, who was he kidding? He was already up in flames.

* * *

Faye lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness. Hot tears streamed down the corners of her eyes, becoming lost in her hair. She hated herself for crying. She knew the rules. Everyone knew the rules. She really couldn't blame Spike. She knew his past; she knew the kind of luggage he carried. It was not fair for her to expect him to return her feelings. And what feelings, anyway? It wasn't like she loved the lunkhead. _Not at all_. Maybe she was just lonely.

Yeah, that was it. She was lonely. Had been feeling lonely for a while now and what she really needed was to go on a date and all her troubles would be over. Next time they docked on Mars, she would look for her cowboy… or samurai, actually.

At least he knew how to treat a lady.

* * *

**Jet:** Some things just never change

**Spike:** You just gotta do what you gotta do

**Faye:** People who live on the fast lane…

**Spike:** Die on the fast lane

**Jet:** Next time, Spike comes face to face with the enemy and Faye goes missing… next episode _**The Black Dragon.**_


	17. Session 39: The Black Dragon

"Last we heard is that they were spotted on Mars" Bob said to Jet over the communicator.

"Is that right? Well, I appreciate you telling me, Bob. I'll steer clear from that place for a while" Jet said, taking a drag from his cigarette. He was in his bonsai room; it was early in the morning and everyone was asleep.

"Alright. Take care Jet" Bob said and the screen went blank.

"That's him" someone said behind him. Startled, he turned around.

"What? Who?" he said as Gwen came inside.

"The man… there was a picture of a man on your screen for a few seconds" Gwen said.

"Bob?"

She shook her head. "Show me… please?" she asked. Jet sighed and turned on the screen, though he knew who she was talking about.

"That's the one" she said.

"What about him?"

"He killed my partner. You say they are on Mars?" she asked.

"No. It was just a sighting… but you know the public gets crazy and never know what they are talking about. How do you know it was him anyway?" Jet said.

Gwen looked at him.

"Because I saw him that night. I remember him" she replied. "Jet… I need you to take me to Mars please"

"What?! What for?"

"Because I need to go to Mars. I have to know if he's there"

"Listen… I know I have only known you for two weeks and all, but I don't think you should do whatever it is you plan on doing" Jet said.

"And what do you think I am doing?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

"Looking for revenge. I know that look. That look in your eyes is all too familiar within the Bebop. It never turns out well"

"I need closure" she sighed, sitting next to him. "The ISSP won't investigate further and Robinson's murderers can't go unpunished" Gwen said quietly. "I would go on my own but my aircraft is still not fixed…" she pointed out. Jet cleared his throat.

"Alright. Alright. I'll take you to Mars. By the time we dock, I should have your craft ready. But don't expect me or my crew to get tangled in any of your mess. I have had quite enough of revenge trips from Spike and I don't need that one getting anymore crazy ideas"

"All I asked is that you please take me to Mars. I didn't ask for our help" Gwen said, lifting her chin proudly.

"Good. 'Cause we ain't helpin'" Jet said. He felt like a jerk for saying that, but he just didn't need any more crap from anyone. He had a family to protect.

"I don't need your help Jet" Gwen repeated. "Thank you" she added before leaving the room… making him feel like a complete tool.

Bah. Women were nothing but trouble. He had Bob keep him up to date on news about Nemesis and his location so that he could purposefully avoid those places. It was for Spike's own good. He'd be damned if a woman (even a kind, beautiful one like Gwen) ruined that. Women always ruined everything.

* * *

Thankful to be on Mars, Faye stretched her arms over her head and yawned. Finally: freedom. Had she had enough fuel, she would have taken the Red Tail and fled the Bebop a while ago. But as luck would have it, she had gone on one too many shopping sprees. It was alright. She had learned a while back that running away never solved anything anyways. She had avoided Spike like the plague and now that they were finally docked, it would be even easier to stay away from him. At least until Jet said it was time to go. Apparently they were here for only a few hours before they were to set out again. It was strange, Jet was never one to waste fuel, but what did she know? None of her business really.

Now, if only she could remember the way to Andy's place… She sighed. Bummer that she found herself all alone yet again. She had thought that maybe having some girl time with Gwen might help her clear her mind, but the woman had left earlier that day and Faye didn't know where she had gone off to. Even Edward and Ein had gone off somewhere with Jet. And Spike? Well, to hell with Spike. She didn't care. She _didn't_.

But where could she go? She didn't even have enough to play the ponies.

Feeling her spirits deflate, she dragged herself to the nearest place and sat down in a secluded corner. It was a cozy little restaurant that felt more like a bar. She ordered a gin and tonic and surveyed the place. It wasn't a very big place and it was nice, actually. The dim lights gave off an ethereal aura about the joint and at least here nobody could see how sorry she looked.

_Pathetic, Valentine. Truly pathetic_, she chided herself.

The music playing overhead was slow and smooth and it made her relax.

She thought about Spike's kiss. She could still feel his mouth crushing hers… devouring her lips almost desperately… and she had responded in kind. The waiter came back with her drink and she thanked him. She would have to control herself. She didn't have the kind of money to go getting drunk. One drink was all she could afford. She ran her finger around the rim of the clear glass and thought back on her very first kiss.

It had been with Whitney, of course. She cringed at the thought. From the memories she had regained she knew she had never had a boyfriend prior to Whitney. She had been a shy little rich girl. High maintenance and over protected. She hadn't been allowed to date probably. Well, whatever. For whatever reason she had never had a boyfriend and that was just the way things were. She had been young and naive and vulnerable and frightened and all of this had led her to fall hard for Whitney like the naive fool she had been. She had trusted him because she was alone and needed to feel like she belonged somewhere. Yup. Whitney had kissed her first. Whitney had also taken her virginity and her heart. And the fucker had left her with nothing but his debts, a broken heart and a deep mistrust of people. Boy had she learned her lesson then.

She had trained herself in hand to hand fighting. She had gained her notorious name, Poker Alice along the way. She had even swindled the Red Tail from a foolish, love-struck sap. At least he had handed everything over legally… fair and square. Ok, maybe not fair… she _was _Poker Alice after all, but still.

After Whitney, she had closed her heart to any kind of emotional attachment to anyone. And contrary to popular belief, she really wasn't a slut. Her way of dressing was only to distract and not to invite. She had slept with two others after Whitney; the handsome, nameless, nobody that had handed over the Red Tail… and Andy. Andy had been the best by far. But Spike… well… he was on a whole different level. He had made her feel on fire. His kiss alone had made her want to tear their clothes off and have him ravish her right then and there like a wanton.

She blushed at the thought.

And if that was just a kiss… she wondered what it would feel like to have his hands all over her body. What it would be like to have him on top of her, whispering her name in her ear as he made love to her…

_Snap out of it Faye! Spike is not for you. Spike is just _like_ you. His heart is closed. It belongs to Julia…_ Faye took a sip from her gin and tonic. She was jealous of Julia. She could admit that to herself here, alone in the dark. Julia had made love to Spike. Spike had made love to Julia. And Spike still belonged to her, even if she was now just a ghost… a memory. Julia must have been a helluva a woman. Or maybe Spike was just an idiot.

_Damn you Spike._

Downing the rest of the drink in one gulp, Faye tossed a couple of notes on the counter and left the bar, angry, hot tears spilling from her eyes. She bumped into someone and mumbled a quick sorry without looking up.

Then she looked back and saw that the person she had bumped into was _him. _He was holding the door open for a woman with red hair. Faye's breath caught in her throat as her eyes locked with his for a second. She felt a chill run through her spine. Then he turned away and the door closed behind him.

Heart hammering in her chest, Faye bit her lip. Should she stay and find out what they were up to? No, that could be dangerous. If Nemesis was anything like Vicious (she shuddered at the thought) then she was definitely in danger if she stayed. Then again, that head was worth 900 million woolongs… Maybe she should call Jet.

Yes, that was the best course of action; Jet would know what to do. She pulled out the little communicator from inside her bra, secretly thankful that Jet had forced them all to take one along every time they left the Bebop.

But Jet wasn't answering. Damn it all!

* * *

"Oh, Spike, you're such a charmer!" Diana giggled as she hooked her arm to his. He smiled down at her.

"Where shall we go, my dear?" he asked lazily.

"Oh… I think you'll like a place called Moonlight Serenade… it's a couple of blocks down the road" Diana said.

"Moonlight Serenade it is then" he said. He had finally kept his promise to the silly chit and he was impressed with the fact that she still remembered him. Ah well, anything was better than nothing… especially when he wanted to forget a pair of emerald eyes.

Diana bored him silly, but he didn't much care. At least she was a distraction.

When they finally reached the restaurant, they were seated next to a window. Diana didn't stop talking. She talked a lot about nothing. It was annoying because she had nothing interesting to say. What party she had gone to last week. What each friend of hers was wearing. When the next party was going to be and would Spike like to come? Of course he didn't… but he smiled and said he would check his schedule to see if he was available. He needed a cigarette badly. He felt his brain was going to melt. He wished someone else were here. Hell, he'd even take Ed. But not wanting to be rude, he turned his mismatched eyes to the girl sitting across from him and acted as though there was nothing more interesting in the world than listening to her talk about how many pairs of shoes she owned.

* * *

Faye licked her lips and pressed her back against the brick wall. She was hiding in the dark alley next to the bar, waiting… watching. Jet still hadn't answered her calls and she was running out of time. Who knew what Nemesis was doing in there or when he'd be leaving.

The minutes passed and Faye was about to give up when the door to the bar opened and Nemesis came out, followed by the woman with red hair. Faye retreated further back into the shadows and flattened herself against the wall, holding her breath, Glock cocked and ready in one hand.

"Do you think he will show?" the woman asked Nemesis as he lit a cigarette.

"Yes. Alfonso has never failed to deliver before" Nemesis replied. "Everything should start falling into place soon"

"And then the Black Dragon will soar in the sky" the woman said, smiling up at Nemesis. He bent his head down to kiss her lips.

"Go now. I'll be there in a bit" he said to her. The woman frowned.

"Why? Where are you going?" she asked.

"Johanna. I said go" he said, and there was something dangerous about his voice… or was it only Faye who heard it? Apparently not, because _Johanna_ pursed her lips and nodded curtly before walking way. Faye's heart hammered in her chest. She licked her lips again and gripped her Glock tighter. Then he turned to look at her.

Impossible. She was hidden by the shadows! But his silver eyes were staring right at her… or so it appeared.

"I know you are there" he said calmly. Faye almost yelped in surprise. He began walking in her direction. Fuck! Fight or flight? _Fight or flight?!_

Faye was a fighter. She pointed her gun directly at him and stepped out of the shadows.

"Keep your hands where I can see them" she said, sounding braver than she felt. He smiled at her and lifted his hands in front of him. To Faye, it felt like he was mocking her. Still, he kept walking towards her even as she took a few steps back. "Don't move!" she shouted. But he kept on walking. "I swear I'll shoot" she said.

"Then do it" he said.

This was nothing like Faye expected. She had expected to feel the same kind of fear she had felt when she had first been in the presence of Vicious… Mao dead and bloody sitting next to her like a grotesque puppet. She had felt fear then, yes. She had feared for her life and she had known that Vicious was dangerous. But this man… this man looking right at her with his silver eyes… he was different. She didn't feel fear… she felt terror. She was frozen in place, unable to run and unable to pull the fucking trigger. His eyes were not dead, like Vicious's had been. No, these eyes were very much alive and the beast inside shone through. It was hungry… and Faye would be its first victim.

He was finally right in front of her… her Glock pressed against his chest. She looked up at him, hating herself for being so afraid she couldn't fucking move.

"Shoot me" he said softly and it sent chills down her spine. Then his large hand came up and slowly pushed her Glock out of the way. His other hand came up quick as lighting and tightened around her neck. With little effort, he lifted her from the ground and slammed her against the brick wall.

"Bounty hunter… it seems you have a long way to go before you even think about hunting me" he said, a wry smile on his lips. Faye gasped for air, one hand gripping his wrist, the other refusing to release her Glock.

"I'm… not a bounty… hunter" she gasped.

He grabbed her wrist and slammed it against the brick wall, but she still refused to let go of her gun. She tried to kick him away but he merely pinned her body with his. The hand around her neck tightened and she felt herself growing hazy.

"Please…" she begged. He released her slowly and she fell to her knees, gasping for breath. She heard the click of a gun and she looked up. He had his Colt Commander aimed right at her head. This was the day that she, Faye Valentine, would die.

The door to the bar opened again, and for the briefest of seconds, Nemesis turned his face to the sound. Faye took the chance and lunged at him, making him stumble and almost fall. She shot him, but her shaking hands and somewhat-hazy vision made her miss; the bullet only gave him a flesh wound on his shoulder. It didn't matter, what mattered was that she was running away now. She was running as fast as her legs would carry her. Thankfully, today she hadn't worn those blasted high heels! Chalk it up to lady luck.

She ran. She didn't look back but she could hear him coming after her. A giant, horrid beast panting behind her, ready to kill her the moment she slipped up. But she couldn't die. Not today. She had her Bebop family to see. She had to tell Spike how she felt. She couldn't die. Not today.

She ran without stopping through the streets. It didn't matter that there were people all around… the monster was still after her. He was running and he was almost catching up to her and calling her name and she was freaking out. How the demon knew her name she did not know nor did she care. She was about to have a panic attack but she kept running… she'd keep running until her lungs burst.

* * *

It happened in a second. In fact, had Spike not been looking out the window happily tuning out Diana, he would have missed it. But he _had _been looking out the window and he _hadn't _missed it. He saw her. And he didn't like what he saw one bit. He had seen Faye running as fast as she could, a look of pure horror on her pretty face. Without thinking about it, Spike jumped to his feet, tossed a few notes on the table, apologized to Diana and left the restaurant. He ran after Faye. He could see her running up ahead.

"Faye!" he called out but she didn't hear him. Or she ignored him. Either way he kept running after her. His long legs were quickly catching up to her. "Faye!"

She turned a corner and he followed. He followed her into an alley with no exit except the flight of metal stairs on the side of the building. He caught her around the waist and she shrieked.

"Let go of me! I'm not a bounty hunter, let go!" she said, struggling with all her might. "Please!"

Spike turned her around and shook her shoulders. "Faye! It's me!" he said. But her eyes were shut and her lips were trembling. "Damn it, Faye, snap out of it! It's me!" he said and slapped her. Hard.

With a gasp she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "It's me. It's Spike" he said gently, brushing her hair from her face.

Her eyes scanned his face for a second. "Spike" she whispered. "Spike… I thought… I thought you were…" she began. Then she lowered her head and her shoulders began to shake as she cried. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in against his chest.

"What happened?" he asked, kissing the top of her head. She was clinging to the lapels of his blue coat, face buried against his neck. "What happened?" he repeated.

"He was after me. He was going to kill me" she said.

"Who?"

But she wouldn't tell him. "Where's Jet?" she asked instead, pulling away from him.

"I don't know" Spike replied.

"We should go home" she said, wiping her eyes. "Don't worry about me… I just panicked for a bit"

"But why?" he asked again. She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it" she said. There was the shuffle of feet behind them and she immediately aimed her Glock. But it was just a stranger passing by. Just a simple pedestrian.

"What the hell is going on?!" Spike demanded.

"I said we should go home, lunkhead" Faye said. But he knew her, and something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Not until you tell me" he said.

"Spike, I really don't want to talk about it" she said.

"But you would talk about it with Jet" he said. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous, even though he knew Jet and Faye did _not_ hold those kinds of feelings for each other.

"Let's go" she said, moving past him. Shoving his hands in his pockets in exasperation, he followed her.

They walked in silence most of the way. They were crossing a bridge when they heard the familiar sound of an aircraft approaching. Good. Maybe Jet was finally coming home too. But it wasn't Jet. It was an unfamiliar craft with a dragon emblazoned on the side. Without warning it began to shoot at them.

"What the actual fuck?!" Spike roared as he and Faye ran to take cover. "What the _fuck_ is going on, Faye?!" he thundered over the fire shower.

"Just run!" she shouted.

And then memories of sickening deja vu came crashing down as he saw a bullet hit Faye and in his mind it _was_ Faye but it was also Julia who was falling over the bridge.

"FAYE!" he shouted, but he kept running as a bullet grazed his cheek. He heard the splash of water. He looked up at the aircraft and his heart stopped. He saw Vicious. But it wasn't Vicious because this man had black hair. This was Nemesis. Their eyes locked and Spike felt the same hatred that burned for Vicious begin to burn for Nemesis. Apparently their target was Faye because the aircraft turned right around and left. Or maybe it was because the police were coming. Spike could hear the sirens. He had to get Faye. He ran back to the place where she fell and looked over the bridge but saw nothing. The river's flow had probably carried her away.

FUCK.

* * *

**Jet:** Women are somethin' else. Never know what they want. Fickle.

**Faye:** Just because you can't understand a woman's complicated emotions doesn't mean we are fickle.

**Spike:** I just want some food.

**Faye:** Get off up your bum and fix it!

**Spike:** You

**Faye:** No, you!

**Jet:** We're going to be here all night…

**Ed:** Oooh la la… Come on Ein, let's raid Jet's secret stash!

**Spike and Faye in unison:** Secret stash?!

**Jet:** I don't know what Ed is talking about!

**Ein *telepathically*:** Next episode…_** Diggin'**_


	18. Session 40: Hard to Say Good-bye

**A/N**: _Ok, so I decided to change the title of this chapter at the last minute because it turned differently than I had planned lol._ _I hope you enjoy it anyways!_

_PS: I forgot to mention the song called "_**It's Hard to Say Goodbye**_" by _Michael Ortega_... I recommend you listen to it while reading the last segment of this chapter... for extra feels. It is the song that inspired it._

* * *

The Bebop remained docked on Mars. For the second day in a row, the Swordfish II and the Hammerhead went out and searched for the missing woman. Eyes in the sky that were ever relentless and searching. So far, there was no trace of her. Nothing on the news about a dead body however, meant that she was still alive somewhere. Why she hadn't contacted them yet was a mystery. The red-haired hacker kept browsing ISSP files in search of some hidden information in case the ISSP wanted to keep her death a secret for unknown reasons.

And still, the girl of the raven hair was nowhere to be found…

* * *

Faye woke in an unfamiliar room. The sun was shining through a small window, hitting her right in the face. She sat up and gasped as a sharp pain shot up her arm and through her shoulder. Seconds later, a man came in. A very familiar man.

"You? What's going on?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I found you" he answered simply.

"Where? When?"

"Floating in the river… two nights ago"

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Ramesses"

"Ramesses… do you know what happened?"

"Not really. I heard shooting outside. It sounded pretty close and I thought maybe someone…" he avoided her eyes and cleared his throat. "Well… I heard shooting and came out of my apartment to see what was going on. I saw you floating in the river. I brought you in."

Her arm and shoulder were bandaged up. So he had plucked her out of the river and patched her up. "Why did you help me? How long have I been out?"

"You've been out two days" he replied. "I helped you because I felt like it."

Faye sighed. "Thank you" she mumbled. "So I've been out two days, huh? Damn" She looked around the room, holding her shoulder. "Any chance my communicator survived?"

Ramesses shook his head. "The only thing on you was your gun. Sorry." He opened the drawer on the bedside table and handed her the Glock.

Faye nodded, holding it in her hands. "I need to contact my… family" she said.

"I have no communicators or phones here" Ramesses said. "But if you're feeling alright, there is a store down the road that has a public phone"

"I'm feeling fine. I think I'll go and use that phone now" she said, swinging her legs over the bed. He watched her as she struggled to pull her boots on. He came close and knelt in front of her. Faye held her breath. If this man tried something now, she'd be helpless. Instead, he took her boots and placed them on her feet, zipping them up. He looked up at her and smiled, making her heart flutter.

"Uh… thanks" she said, looking away. He stepped back and she got to her feet and straightened her over-the-shoulder sweater. Adjusting her black leather pants as best she could, she went into the small bathroom in the room and splashed water on her face and rinsed her mouth. When she came out, he was gone from the room. Well, at least the man wasn't a pervert. She looked for him and found him in the kitchen. His large frame dwarfed the small space.

"Thank you again, Ramesses. How can I ever repay you?"

He turned to look at her and gave her a dashing smile. She had almost forgotten how handsome he was. "You can go on a date with me some time" he said. She looked at him and blinked.

"Huh?"

"A date. You know… when a man takes a woman out dinner and a movie or something" he grinned.

Faye shook her head at herself. "Yeah, I know what a date is… I just wasn't sure I heard you right. Alright… a date then" she said with a smiled.

"Alright" he said.

But really, did she have a choice? How could she refuse this man? He was wearing normal clothes today: a simple blue t-shirt (that did nothing to hide his strong arms and stretched just a little over his broad chest) and sweatpants… and boy he looked good. Accepting a date with him because he was hot was extremely shallow of her but whatever. "Well… good bye" she said after a moment.

"Wait. I don't even know your name" he said.

"Faye. Faye Valentine" she answered.

"Ok. Bye… Faye Valentine"

With that, she left the small apartment.

She found the small store and called Jet. Why she called him and not Spike was beyond her, but she suspected it had to do with the fact that Spike had seen her extremely vulnerable and not like herself at all and that made her uncomfortable.

She waited outside, leaning against the wall. She lit a cigarette from the pack she had just bought. The bitter smoke soothed her nerves. What a terrifying ordeal. It had been like nothing she had experienced before. Nemesis had something about him that was not only ghastly, but also dangerous and toxic… very much unlike Vicious, though he had been daunting too. She guessed it was because with Vicious, she had never really been the target. She had been the bait to lure Spike out of hiding. How could anyone be with men like that? What kind of woman was that Johanna, anyway? Maybe she was just like Julia. Vicious had loved Julia too, right? Maybe Julia and Johanna liked to live on the edge… very much like Faye did. And maybe… maybe at some point in his life… Spike had been just like Vicious and Nemesis. She shuddered at the thought.

She heard the familiar hum of the Hammerhead and smiled. She was glad to be going home.

* * *

"So what happened" Jet asked. Faye buckled her seatbelt at his request. Never ones for sentimentalities, there were no tearful, joyful hugs between them. A curt nod and that was that.

"I got shot, didn't Spike tell you?" she said.

"Yeah, he told me you got shot up. But what happened before that? He said you were keeping secrets."

Faye sighed. "Well, I met Nemesis" she said.

Jet wheeled his head around so fast he cricked his neck. "What?! What do you mean?"

"Yup. He came into the same bar I was in. I tried calling you but you never answered" Faye said.

"Ed left my communicator behind… I never thought you two would get into so much trouble seeing as we were only supposed to stay on Mars for a few hours! Nemesis was the reason why I wanted to leave as fast as possible" Jet said.

"You knew he was on Mars?! Why the hell did you bring us here then?!"

"Because Gwen asked me too. She reminds me of Spike. She's on some revenge trip against Nemesis. She reckons he killed her partner. But enough of that. What happened?"

"Well I waited outside the bar to see what he was up to, you know? And I thought I had myself really well hidden in the alley but he found me. He almost killed me but I ran away. I don't know how but Spike found me and then we got shot up. Well, I did, anyway. Did he? Is he ok?"

"Yeah, Spike has more lives than the white cat" Jet said.

"What white cat?"

"Nothing. You wouldn't understand."

Faye rolled her eyes. "Men and their inside jokes" she muttered.

After a moment of silence, Faye let out a deep breath. "It seems we can never keep out of trouble, can we? It's like we attract it" she said.

"Like a moth to the flames" Jet agreed.

* * *

"FAYE-FAYE!"

Ah, there she was. The one person on this ship that was still pure and innocent and unmarred. Ed flung her arms around Faye's slim waist and hugged her tightly. Faye smiled and patted the wild child's messy hair. At least someone was genuinely happy she was back. It made her feel good.

"We missed you!" the rosy-cheeked girl said, looking up at Faye with huge, amber eyes.

"I missed you guys too, Ed" Faye answered, trying to disengage herself from the hacker. Too much mawkishness and she may start crying.

"Welcome home, Valentine" Spike drawled, peering at her through the corner of his eyes. He was sitting on the yellow couch, long legs propped over the center table.

"Thanks, Spiegel" she said.

She liked that whenever one of them was hurt, they didn't make a huge fuss about it. She couldn't handle the mushy stuff anyway. And she liked that they were all so strong and even though they all acted like they couldn't care less about one another, she knew better. They all knew they each had each other's backs. It was the way things were on the Bebop.

"I'm starving" she said, stretching her arms above her head. Immediately she winced and lowered her left arm… she forgot she had been shot.

"I'm about to make some lunch" Jet said grumpily, but he looked at Faye and smiled, shaking his head.

After taking a shower and having had dinner, Faye sat on the yellow couch. Edward was painting her nails pink.

"How are you feeling?" Spike asked, coming in to the lounge.

"I'm just dandy" Faye replied, flipping the page to her magazine.

"So why didn't you tell me Nemesis was after you?"

Faye tensed up. So he knew. Ah well. "Because I know you" she said simply.

"Is that right?"

"Yup. Didn't want you getting any crazy ideas"

"I told you I wasn't" he said, pulling out a cigarette.

"Right… because I'm going to take your word for it" she said.

"All done! Pink nails, flamingo tails! Ed is an artist… like Picasso!" the hacker said. "Maybe Ein wants his nails done too" she said thoughtfully. A second later she sprinted out of the lounge, leaving Faye and Spike alone.

Damn. She wished Ed was back. She didn't want to be alone with Spike. He sat down next to her.

"There's a free spot over there you know" she said.

"I like this one better" he said simply. They stayed in silence for a long moment.

"I thought you died" he said after a while.

"Were you sad?" she teased.

He didn't reply.

"Have a little faith in me, geez. I'm tougher than I look" Faye said after a moment. She hated the awkwardness.

"Yeah… yeah. I guess so" he said with a faraway look in his eyes. Faye felt a pang in her chest then pursed her lips. He was probably thinking about Julia.

If truth be told, she was getting a little sick of it. That woman invaded his thoughts even when Faye was the one that was hurt. But she was angry at herself for caring. She knew Spike was a chained man and to think he would ever love her was ridiculous. Pathetic, even.

"Well I'm still here, lunkhead. And I'll be here for a while, sorry"

_Sorry I'm not Julia…_

She had meant to sound nonchalant but her voice had wavered for a second. She got to her feet.

"You alright?" Spike asked her. She looked down at him and at that moment both love and hatred mingled in her heart.

"I'm just peachy" she said and this time, her voice was cold and hard. She left without another word to him.

Well, it was alright. She couldn't really hate him. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't even her fault. Nobody chose to fall in love, right? And it was unfair for her to expect anything from him at all. Who was she to want him to forget about Julia? What right did she have? She had barged into the Bebop one day and became part of their crew without even being invited. Why, she had absolutely no right to hate Spike. No right to expect anything from him. No right to be jealous of the love he had for his precious Julia. Really, Faye was the third wheel in all of this. And to make herself feel better, she would go out on dates. She would definitely go on that date with Ramesses.

Why, maybe he was the answer to all her problems.

* * *

Spike lay on the couch. He thought about Faye. For an awful moment he had thought she had died when he saw her go over the bridge.

The very thought of that happening… of Faye dying… tore at his heart in a way he hadn't expected. It was one thing to lose Julia… if he had ever even had her to begin with, but it was an entirely different thing to lose Faye. That broad had weaseled her way into his good graces.

Losing Faye would be a huge blow to the Bebop. He wondered if that was the way she and Jet had felt when he had gone off on his mission against Vicious. He realized how selfish he had been. He had almost died, but they had come to collect him and saved his life. His loyal friends.

Spike sighed.

He wanted to tell Faye he was sorry for hurting her. He knew she felt something for him. She was always by his side, fighting his battles with him; saving his ass on more than one occasion. She risked her life to help him. He knew she felt something for him. He had seen it in her eyes the day he had left on his suicide mission. Her green eyes had been full of hurt and confusion and anger. She hadn't stopped him because she had known that he would not change his mind, no matter what she had said.

How stupid could he be? Well, very, apparently. Ah, fuck it. It was a huge mess and he had no idea how to begin to fix it.

He thought about Julia. He wanted to let her go but wasn't sure how. How did he let go of someone who had kept him rooted to his past for so long? Was it even possible?

After a while, he dozed off…

* * *

_There was someone singing. He knew that voice. Where was it coming from? He looked around but there was nothing. Just infinite darkness no matter where he looked. Still, the voice continued to sing. Very softly… like an angel. _His_ angel. His Julia. _

_He ran towards the sound. He didn't know where he was going; all he knew was that he was going. The voice was getting closer… _

_Then, far away, there was someone, kneeling on the floor. The figure was surrounded by soft light. It was Julia. He walked towards her. _

"_Julia?" he asked. She turned her face to him and smiled softly._

"_Spike" _

"_What are you doing here? It's dark here" he said, kneeling in front of her._

"_I'm here because this is where you want me to be" she said sadly. She moved her right hand to tuck a stand of blond hair behind her ear and there was a heavy shackle on her wrist._

"_What? No! I don't want you here" he said, taking her hand and pulling on the chain. _

_Her sad blue eyes looked around. "Then why am I here Spike?"_

_Spike was rooted to the spot. He couldn't move; he couldn't speak. He was shaking. _

"_I don't know. Why are you here Julia?"_

"_I'm here because this is where you want me to be…" she said again. Spike shook his head._

"_No… no! Not here… not here Julia" he whispered. _

"_Then let me go" she murmured. She tried to move her left hand to cup his face but it was stopped abruptly by a chain. She smiled softly at him. "Let me go" she said again._

"_How?" _

"_They key"_

"_What key? I don't have the key" he said._

"_Yes you do… they key to your heart" she said. _

"_No… I don't have that key… you do" he said. She shook her head sadly. _

"_No Spike… the key has been with you for a long, long time now. Let me go" she said._

"_I don't have the key!" but he felt it before he even finished his sentence. In his breast pocket, there was something heavy. He dug inside and pulled out a tiny key and he wondered how something so small could weigh so much. "What will happen if I use the key?" he asked._

"_I will move on" she said._

"_And go where?"_

"_On. I'm here because this is where you want me to be, Spike. Let me go" _

_Shaking, Spike took the key and unlocked the first shackle. She smiled at him sadly as she cupped his cheek in her hand. He unlocked the second one and she rubbed her wrists. She got to her feet. Spike looked up at her, tears in his mismatched eyes. _

"_I'm going now" she said as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. He buried his face against her stomach and clung to her. "Spike… I'm going now. You can be happy again… but not if you keep me here" she said, running her hand through his hair. _

"_There is someone here to see you. She will guide you… to happiness" Julia said and stepped away from him. "You need to let me go now" she said. _

_Spike closed his eyes and nodded. He opened them and Julia smiled at him with that beautiful, bright, angelic smile he remembered so well. And then she was gone in a gust of wind… blowing away as if she was but dust. "Good bye… Spike…"_

_And then he was alone in the darkness. _

_So dark. So, so dark. He was beginning to panic. Too dark… so much darkness. He felt lost. He was lost and he wanted to get out of here. He began to run, but which way he was going was beyond him. _

"_Spike… Spike…" there it was. Another voice. Another familiar voice. "Over here… Spike. Follow my voice" she said. And he did. He followed frantically until he fell over an edge he hadn't even known was there. _

_He fell… fell into the abyss. He was falling into nothingness. He hit water. He was now drowning. Drowning in nothingness and water. Still, all remained dark. _

"_Spike…"_

_He broke the surface of the water… he was upside down, floating in midair. _

"_Don't be afraid, Spike" she said. And the darkness was slowly fading… retreating. It was being chased away by some ethereal, soft light. And in the middle of the nothingness was another figure. She was upside down too. She turned to look at him and it was her green eyes that gave him the strength to take his first step. Upon taking it, the white world righted itself. He began to run to her. She was holding out her hand to him. He slipped but managed to grasp her hand before falling. She helped him up._

"_I've been waiting for you…" she said. She was looking at him and in that instant he knew the real Faye. Caring, sweet, pure, loving Faye. _

"_Let's go" she said, smiling up at him. _

"_Ok" he replied. He let her guide him._

"_It's going to be ok… Spike… Spike…. Spike… SPIKE!"_

Spike woke with a start, gasping for air. He looked around and realized he was on the Bebop.

"What is your deal?" she asked. It was Faye. "Are you ok? Are you… crying?"

"What? No. I'm not crying… what the hell is going on?" he said, roughly passing a hand over his eyes.

"You were having a nightmare, I think" Faye answered, looking at him with concern. "I came out to have a drink of water and I heard you… so I kind of slapped you awake"

"It was a dream. I'm fine" he said, rubbing his cheek.

"Ok… well, if you need to talk about it, I'm here you know" she said.

"Yeah. I know. Thanks" he said.

"Well, alright. Not my problem, really" she said nonchalantly. She began to walk away.

"Yo, Valentine" he said after her. She turned to him, one eyebrow raised. "Don't go dying, alright?"

"Didn't plan on it, cowboy"

* * *

**Spike [playing the guitar and singing]:** She wore rattlesnake boots, a sassy mood. She had me laughin' in my tears. The most beautiful thing, so young and sweet; a little green behind the ears. She took me higher than I ever been. Lordy what have I been missin'… Now she is all I'm diggin'…

**Edward:** Next... _**Diggin'!**_


	19. Session 41: Diggin'

**A/N:** _Sorry for my absence guys! I promise I'll make it up to you in the coming chapters! I thought it was a good idea to stray from the serious stuff for a bit… and I hope you enjoy the next chapters!_

* * *

"Quit your complaining! It's been over a month! You gotta get out and do some work!" Jet said, coming out of the kitchen wearing an apron and holding a skillet in his hand.

"Who cares if it happened a month ago? It still hurts! Tell Spike to do it" Faye said.

She was lying, of course. Her wound had healed quite nicely; it hadn't been half as bad as she had thought. But there were certain perks to being the wounded on the Bebop. For example, Edward was now a kind of personal maid, Jet the personal chef, and Spike the one who brought home the bacon. All Faye had to do was whine and moan a little and everything was fine.

But Jet had caught on, and her little charade was crumbling fast. Ah well, all good things had to end sometime, right?

"We aren't going to be your slaves forever, Faye" Jet said, waving the spatula in her direction.

"I ain't doing squat for you anymore" Spike said, shrugging out of his blue coat.

"You guys suck" Faye said, stretching her long legs on the yellow couch. She placed an arm over her eyes. "I'm really not cut out for this. I need to marry a man with money… then all my troubles would be over" she said.

"Like Andy?" Spike asked.

"Yeah… yeah! Like Andy. Next time we're on Mars I'm gonna round him up and have him propose. I'll be sure to send you lot a wedding invitation" she said, throwing a sideway glance at the lanky man seated opposite her. She knew this would annoy him greatly.

"Whatever. I don't want to go to your stupid wedding" Spike said testily, crossing his legs over the center table.

"Wedding! Weddings have cakes! Edward likes cakes! Let's bake some cakes! Jet-person! Let's bake some cakes!" Edward said as she passed by the lounge. Swinging her arms freely she lazily walked her way into the kitchen where Jet was.

Faye sighed and swung her legs over the couch. "Fine. I guess I better get to work. I don't want to lose my touch" she said. "What do I have to do?"

"We're going to Ganymede" said Jet coming out of the kitchen. He was carrying two bowls of food and placed one in front of Faye and one in front of Spike. "Lunch is ready" he said, going back to the kitchen. Faye grabbed her bowl and sniffed, her mouth watering at the smell.

"What is this?" she asked, grabbing her chop sticks.

"Beef rolls over rice" Jet said coming back, this time balancing two bowls in one arm. Ed was following him with her eyes closed, arms dangling loosely at her sides, sniffing the air. The third bowl he placed on the floor and Ein began to eat happily.

"Delicious" Spike said with his mouth full. Faye nodded, her cheeks bulging with beef and rice.

"Well at least you ingrates liked it" Jet grumbled. "Now, we are going to Ganymede, like I said. There's a decent bounty there… a woman. Apparently she has expensive taste and likes to rob jewelry stores" Jet said, shoveling beef rolls into his mouth.

"An' whe' do we ge' err?" Faye said between giant mouthfuls.

"Huh?" Jet asked, slightly repulsed by his crewmates' table manners. Spike had lifted his bowl and was shoveling the rest of his food into his mouth like he was a garbage truck. Ed was imitating Ein, both of them eating noisily in the background.

"When do we get there?" Faye repeated after swallowing with some difficulty.

"In an hour or two" Jet said.

"Is there more?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, in the kitchen" Jet replied. Faye shot to her feet and followed him.

"You're not finishing it!" she said after him.

"Watch me" Spike said nonchalantly.

Jet shook his head and ate in silence as Ed ran after the pair of bottomless pits for a second serving.

* * *

"Alright Ed… are you ready? We're about to take off" Faye said to the young girl who was riding with her on the Red Tail.

"Ready spaghetti" Ed sang as she placed her black backpack beside her seat. Ein's head poked out of the bag and he began to pant happily, his tongue lolling.

"Good. Remember, when we get there, all you have to do is stay hidden and let me know if you see anyone suspicious. A woman, to be exact" Faye said.

"Yep! Edward knows… her name is Misty the Jewel Thief! Ed saw a picture of her and based on Ed's calculations, she will be at the destination!"

"Good girl, Ed. Let's get to it then and show these boys how girls get things done" Faye said with a smile.

"Aye aye, captain!"

Minutes later, they arrived at downtown Ganymede. The streets were lined with small shops and eateries. It was afternoon and the streets were packed with people shopping.

"Well damn. This will make it a little harder to spot the bounty, but I'm sure we can do it… what was the address again?" Faye asked Ed. The young girl handed her a piece of paper which had the address on it. "Hmm… it seems we need to go this way…"

Faye and Ed walked their way through the bustle and finally found the presumed destination.

"Alright Ed… you wait around here and call me if you see anything, ok?" Faye said to the hacker who saluted her.

She had ulterior motives to bring Ed along, of course. While Ed kept watch, she would go and get herself a drink. She vaguely wondered if it was alright to leave Ed in charge of looking out for the bounty, but she guessed it was. It couldn't hurt. But no sooner had she decided on the restaurant than Ed was calling her.

"What is it, Ed?" Faye asked, slightly annoyed.

"She's here, she's here!" Ed said excitedly.

"What?! Already?!"

"Yuh huh! Hurry!" Ed said through the comm.

Damn. Guess her drink would have to wait. Running back to where she had left Ed, Faye peered in through the glass. Sure enough, the woman was in there, pretending to browse the selection of diamonds. She was wearing a tight pink dress and a ridiculously puffy, blond wig… but the tattoo on her leg gave her away.

"Alright Ed, I'm going to go in there and catch the thief. You stay out here and as soon as you see me catch her, you call the police, ok?" Faye whispered. But there was no reply. Looking around, Faye noticed Ed was gone. Where the hell had she gone?

Her question was soon answered when she saw Ed had waltzed inside the jewelry shop. Ein jumped out from her backpack and Ed pulled out two strange looking guns.

"Edward!" Faye snarled. She pulled out her Glock and the people around her stepped away and cleared a path for her, looking scared. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Alright, Misty the Jewelry Thief, this is a bust!" she said, pointing the toy-looking guns at Misty.

"Who's gonna bust me? You, little girl? Don't make me laugh!" Misty said with a laugh.

"Stinky gas!" Faye heard Ed say. No sooner had the words left her mouth than she shot the guns and the place was immediately engulfed in clouds of sickly green smoke that reeked of rotten eggs. In her laughter, Misty gulped down a mouth full of the foul gas and began to choke. Everyone inside the shop started coughing and retching.

"EWARD!" Faye snarled, covering her mouth and nose with her hands. Misty tried to make her way to the door, coughing and spluttering.

"Ein! Stop her!" Edward yelled. Ein the data dog bolted towards the thief and clamped his jaws around her skinny leg. Misty cried out in pain and tried to kick Ein off but he wouldn't let go.

"Don't move!" Faye shouted, pointing her gun at Misty.

"What the hell kind of bounty hunters are you?!" Misty wailed.

Suddenly the door flew open and there was… neighing? Was it a fucking _horse_?

Indeed… a very familiar horse was in the doorway… and atop of the beast was a very familiar samurai.

"Andy? What are you doing here?" Faye asked, lowering her weapon.

"Ah, my beautiful fairy… I never thought I'd be meeting you here of all places" Andy said with a broad smile.

"Who gives a shit! Who the hell are you?!" Misty screeched, pulling on Ein who still refused to let go of her leg.

"You can call me Musashi, ma'am, at your service" Andy said, jumping off of his steed. "But, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to turn you in" he said.

"Hey, now wait a minute, Andy, that's my bounty" Faye said. Ed tapped her thighs with her palms and Ein immediately let go of the wench and ran back to the hacker.

"Certainly, my beloved. This is your bounty… I wouldn't dream of taking the earnings for myself" Andy said as he cuffed the thief.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman" Faye smiled. "Unlike that jerk, Spike… he would have kept the woolongs all for himself" she added as an afterthought.

"Spike? You mean that crazy fellow with the fuzzy hair? He is quite the cowboy if I remember correctly" Andy said.

"Yeah! Fuzzy hair! The Spike-person is awesome!" Ed said as she dialed the ISSP. "Isn't he, Ein?" Ein barked once in agreement.

"Well, now that we are here waiting, how's about I invite you on a date, Titania?" Andy said, giving Faye a charming smile.

"What's a Titania?" Ed asked curiously, looking from Andy to Faye.

"Titania is the queen of the fairies, little miss" Andy answered. Faye blushed.

"Yeah, alright. What time?" she asked, trying to act cool. It was a new thing for her to have a man show interest her in such a gentlemanly way. She was used to crude catcalls and near-obscene invitations.

"Let's say… around eight?"

"It's a date then" Faye said. "Um… you're not gonna wear that, are you?" she asked, looking at his samurai getup.

"What, this?" Andy laughed, "No. I have to take a break from being a samurai of justice once in a while."

"Hmm" Faye said.

Shortly after, the police arrived, took Misty away and Andy parted ways with Faye and Ed.

* * *

"So how did it go?" Jet asked as the girls walked through the circular door.

"Surprisingly well. Ed helped" Faye said. "I reckon it's time to start training her to be a bounty hunter proper"

"Yeah! Edward wants to be a hunter too! Hunter punter criminals catch! Bounty Mountie… woolongs by the batch! Edward the Bounty Slayer… criminals… say your prayers!" Edward sang as she twirled Ein around in the air.

"Is that so? I don't know about Ed handling a gun…" Jet said, rubbing the back of his neck. Immediately Edward climbed all over him like a cat climbing a tree.

"But Jet-person! I'm ready! I'm old enough! I can practice and train my brain!" she pouted.

"I don't know Ed" Jet grumbled, hands on his hips. She gave him a sad look, widening her amber eyes as far as they would go, looking like a miserable cat.

"Give the girl a break. You never know… she might need to defend herself one of these days. We can train her" Faye said.

"I don't know that I have a gun that is small enough for her hands, though" Jet said with Edward still clinging to him.

"I can look through my stash. I could have sworn I have a Colt Cobra in there somewhere… or was it a Ruger? I'll take a look" Spike said lazily as he made his way into the lounge.

"Where were you?" Faye asked.

"Taking a shit" Spike answered.

"You're disgusting" she said, wrinkling her nose.

"You asked" Spike shot back.

"Anyway, did you catch the bounty or not?" Jet asked. "Get off me Ed" he added. Edward summersaulted off of him gleefully.

"Yup. Three-hundred thousand woolongs in the bank, baby" Faye said, handing over her card to Jet. Normally she would never hand over the cash, at least, not all of it. But she figured since Jet had been such a stand-up guy as she had healed, she wouldn't give him much grief about the money… this time.

Taking out his card reader, he swiped the card. "Here. 75k for you, for catching the bounty" he said, handing Faye her EMC. "Hand me your card, Spike."

"Here, dad" the lanky man said, handing over his card. Jet pursed his lips.

"75k for you for helping me fix the toilet that you clogged" the big man said, swiping Spike's card and handing it back. "And 30k for you, Ed because you helped catch the thief" he said, handing Ed her very own EMC.

"Yay! Wooly woolongs for Edward!" the hacker said happily.

"Well… now that you all have some money, I thought maybe we should take a little break and stay on Ganymede for a day or two… you know, just to relax. Like a vacation or something" Jet said.

"Nice! Can we spend our allowance wherever we want?" Faye teased.

"Shut up… I swear I treat you like children because you act like children" Jet snapped.

"Calm down old man, you're gonna give yourself a heart attack" Spike teased.

"I'm only 37 years old!" Jet fumed, storming away from his annoying crewmembers.

"Well, I better get ready. See you guys later" Faye said, stretching her arms over her head as she left the lounge as well.

"Where are you going?" Spike asked, but she ignored him.

"She's going on a date with Andy!" Edward chirped.

"WHAT?!" Spike roared.

* * *

**Edward:** We're going on a mission!

**Spike:** But you gotta be quiet, Ed… can't be found out, alright?

**Ed *whispering*: **Shh… We're going on a secret mission! Next chapter… _**First Date**_!


	20. Session 42: First Date

"Well, looks like they're almost here for me" Faye said, getting to her feet. She had been sitting on the yellow chair across from Spike. She was wearing a beautiful, satin, red dress that hugged her body tightly with a slit on the side to reveal one leg and the silver high heels made her legs look even longer. She had left her black hair loose, but had curled it so that it fell in soft, loose folds around her face and shoulders. Her make-up was soft and natural. She had to hand it to herself… she looked damned good.

Not that she had put any of this effort for Andy, per se... and it wasn't like she was trying to make Spike jealous or anything, but she wanted him to know that she could look like a million bucks and that respectable men actually found her interesting… not just raunchy old men in seedy bars. So far, however, the giant lug hadn't even paid her much attention. He had sat on the yellow couch, crossed his arms behind his head, crossed on long, skinny leg over the other and closed his eyes… completely ignoring her. The jerk.

"Faye-Faye! You look beeeee-oooo-teeee-fuuuulll" Edward sang happily, staring at her.

"Well thank you Ed. Maybe one of these days I'll show you the art of make-up" Faye said.

Edward ran to the window and pressed her face to the glass. "He's here, he's here! Faye-Faye, Andy is here!" the hacker said excitedly.

Neither of the girls noticed Spike's scowl or the way he tensed up at the mere mention of the name.

"Oh he is? Better let him wait outside for at least five minutes… can't ever have a man know you were waiting for _him_. Might get to his head and over-inflate his ego. First lesson Ed… always, _always_ leave a man waiting for at least five minutes. They wait for you… you don't ever wait for them" Faye said haughtily.

"What the hell kind of advice is that?" Spike snapped. "Not all women are like you, Faye, don't rot the girl's brain"

Faye ignored him. "Ed, do me a favor and answer the door and tell him I'll be out in a few minutes, will ya?"

Edward nodded excitedly and ran off. After a couple of long minutes, Faye headed for the door. "Ok, he's been waiting long enough… I better get going" she said, taking a deep breath.

"Whatever" Spike said, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're just jealous" Faye said.

"As if" Spike replied nonchalantly. Shaking her head, Faye left the Bebop.

Sure enough, Andy was waiting for her atop his trusty steed, looking as handsome as ever in a black suit.

"You look stunning, my beautiful flower" he said, jumping off the beast. He walked to her and took her hand, kissing it softly.

"Thank you, kind sir. You look very good yourself" Faye said, giving him her best smile. He helped her mount the horse before taking his seat behind her himself.

"I say… between the two of us, we make one good looking couple" he grinned. Ah…. She had almost forgotten how full of himself he could be. She knew he meant well, and he wasn't haughty or anything like that… she guessed having been born to an extremely wealthy family had to have its side effects… and Andy was just the kind of guy who didn't mind giving himself a few compliments here and there. "Shall we go now, fair lady?"

"We shall" she answered. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips before urging his horse forward.

* * *

"Spikey-Spike… why are you so angry?" Ed asked, coming up behind Spike who had been looking out the window at the pair below.

"I can't stand that guy" he said, clenching his fists. "He's such a moron… how can any woman find him appealing?"

"Is the Spike-person jealous of the Andy-person?"

Spike wheeled around with a dark scowl on his face. "I am _not_ jealous of the likes of _him_" he snarled. Ed giggled.

"If you say so, Spikey-Spike" the girl said, before throwing herself on the couch.

"Hey Ed… I have an idea" Spike said after a moment. "Why don't we follow Andy and Faye? Just to make sure she's alright, you know? It will be like a secret mission"

Ed perked up immediately. "Spike-person wants to go on a secret mission with Ed? Yeah! What do we do?!" she asked.

"Did Faye happen to tell you where they were going?" Spike asked.

"To the Loony March" Ed said.

"The what?"

"The Loony March!" Ed repeated.

"The loony… oh! Lune de la Mer" Spike said. Of course that dumbass would take her to the fanciest restaurant this side of Ganymede. Fuck. How was he supposed to spy on them there? He paced the lounge for a minute.

"I got it! Edward… run into Faye's room and grab her make-up bag, ok? And do you have any dresses for yourself?"

Ed nodded. "Jet got me some dresses once… I think they still fit-fit" she said.

"Good. Go get dressed and bring the make-up bag ok?"

Ed nodded again and ran away. Spike sighed and sat on the couch again.

After a few minutes, the hacker came back wearing a frilly, pink dress that clashed horribly with her flaming red hair. "Here!" she said, tossing the black, velvet bag at Spike. He unzipped it and nodded. All the make-up in the world was stashed in there.

"Good. Now come here Ed. We gotta get you looking fancy so we can get into that restaurant, ok?"

Ed sat on the metal table in front of Spike and waited patiently. Rummaging through the bag Spike pulled out a few items with no idea what they were for, but the colors were pretty so it would be alright. Grabbing a huge, fluffy brush from the bag, he dabbed the red powder and began to pass the brush over Ed's already rosy cheeks. He did that a couple of times before switching brushes and poking the pink color and dabbing it on her eyelids. Fuck, this was harder than he thought.

"What the fuck is missing?" he asked out loud.

"Lip stick!" Ed offered happily, pouting her lips into a kissy face.

"Oh, right, right… here, this color matches your dress. Hold still…" he said, concentrating on dabbing the pink lipstick on her lips. Eh, he guessed his aim needed a little working on, as he had painted part of her chin and a little under her nose but it would have to do. "Alright. All done. We have to hurry… do you have any shoes or anything?"

"Nope" Ed said cheerfully, jumping off the center table. She ran to the bathroom and Spike heard her shriek with laughter.

"Spikey-Spike! I look like a clown! We're going to the circus!" she chirped, jumping up and down the hallway.

"Well you'd fit right in… you're like a trained seal" he mumbled. "Come here, we have to do something about that hair." He grabbed a rubber-band from Faye's make-up bag and put Ed's hair in a pony-tail atop her head that looked more like a palm tree than anything else. "Good. Let's go"

And with that, they left the Bebop.

Moments later Jet came out of his room, rubbing his face. It was almost dinner time, but nobody had nagged him about it. They had let him sleep in, which was odd. Could they realize that he needed some beauty sleep too?

"Thanks guys… for letting me sleep. I'll get dinner started" he said. There was no reply. "Faye?" he called out. No answer. "Spike?" Nothing. "Edward?" Silence. He walked around the Bebop looking for his crew. "Ein?" Finally, a low whimper from inside the kitchen.

"So they left without saying good-bye, huh? Even Ed. They left us behind like two old dogs, buddy. Those ingrates" Jet grumbled, petting Ein. "Who needs them anyway? We'll stuff our face and watch westerns and drink whiskey without any nagging, old boy…"

* * *

"Wow… this is a beautiful view" Faye said with a sigh. It really was. They had been seated in the VIP section of the restaurant, next to a window that gave an amazing view of the ocean and beyond.

"One of the perks of being Andy" he said with a grin. Faye fought the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't really annoyed with him… she knew him. But she wished she was here with someone else. Someone that, coincidentally, looked a lot like Andy, but whose eyes were mismatched and whose hair was brown and not blond. But that was silly. She should be grateful to Andy for bringing her here. She turned her emerald eyes to him and smiled.

"Must be nice" she said.

"Indeed. Have you thought of what you want?"

"No… not really" she said. She was uncomfortably aware of the social class difference between Andy and herself. She couldn't read half the names on the card. As if sensing her distress, Andy covered her hand with his and gave her a soft smile.

"I have the perfect choices, if you don't mind me making the decision" he said.

"Oh, not at all. I trust you" she said, relief washing over her face.

"Alright" he said and motioned for the server to come over to their table.

"Monsieur, are you ready to order?" the young man asked politely.

"Yes… to start, we'll have Pinot Grigio and Cream of Watercress Soup" Andy said.

"Very good choice, monsieur. I will be right back" the server said and retreated. Moments later he returned with their drink.

By this time, Faye was seriously questioning her choice of accepting Andy's invitation. By her calculations, at this time, the Bebopers would be eating dinner… they had a little money, so it wouldn't be noodles from a cup or Jet's specialty: bells peppers and beef… that somehow never had beef. No, they would probably be eating something else. Maybe even pizza, which was a rare treat, but one that Ed always got away with. That girl had Jet in the palm of her hand… like daughters had fathers.

"Woolong for your thoughts" Andy said.

"I was thinking about kids" Faye said without thinking.

"Kids? Well now, it's a little early in the relationship to start thinking about children, don't you think?" Andy teased.

Faye blushed furiously. "No! I didn't mean I was thinking about having kids with _you_! I mean, not that there's anything wrong with you or anything, it's just that I don't want kids any time soon, I'm way too young for that!" she explained hastily. Andy laughed.

"Relax, I was kidding" he said as the server filled their wine glasses with white wine. To avoid talking again, Faye downed her wine in one gulp. Andy grinned broadly, taking a sip of his. "Fascinating" he said.

"What? What's fascinating?" she asked, fidgeting with her napkin.

"You. I've never met anyone quite like you, Faye. I say we would make the perfect couple… I mean, we are great in bed already"

Faye blushed again and laughed nervously. Andy wasn't seriously asking her out, was he? And God, did he have to remind her that they had slept together?

"I'm afraid I don't have the time for a serious relationship. I'm a free spirit. Can't be cuffed to one person or one place for long" she lied. That was mostly true. Ever since Whitney, she had sworn off serious relationships, but sometimes, her chicken-shit heart got lonely and she toyed with the idea of a long-term boyfriend. Of course, it would probably never happen…

Just then, the soup arrived and thankful for the interruption of her thoughts, she began to eat. To hell with it.

* * *

After many stares from strangers and changing their seats a couple of times, Spike and Ed were sitting near enough to Faye and Andy so that Spike could see them properly, while remaining well hidden himself.

"May I take your order, monsieur?" a server asked politely.

"Uh, not yet" Spike said absentmindedly. With a polite nod, the server retreated. Spike turned to Ed. "I don't have a lot of money so we're not eating here… just choose something small… when all this is done, I'll take you out to eat pizza, what do you say?"

"Alright!" Ed said happily, scanning over the menu card. "I want ice cream!"

Spike called the server over and Ed ordered her ice cream and he ordered a whiskey. "Ugh… what are they eating? Escargots? How can she eat that?" Spike mumbled to himself, peering over at Andy and Faye. To his immense pleasure, Faye looked sick to her stomach and hardly paid attention to Andy who was talking his head off. Good. Served her right, going out with a jerk like that.

Minutes later, the server returned with their order. Ed ate happily, swinging her feet back and forth, ignoring the stares and Spike.

"Shit… Stay here, Ed, I'll be right back" Spike said. Faye had left the table and was heading to the ladies room. Spike followed. He purposefully bumped into her and feigned surprise to see her there.

"Faye?" he asked lazily, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Spike! What the hell are you doing here? Are you _following _me?" she hissed.

"Why the hell would I follow _you_?"

"You tell me, you dolt!"

"Listen, missy. I'm not following you. I have a date" he said.

"You? A _date_? And you came _here _dressed like _that_?" Faye scoffed.

"What's it to you how I dress?" he snapped.

"I feel sorry for your date. At least mine is classy" she fumed. Spike grabbed her arm, hard. "Ow, let go of me!"

"So are you that buffoon's girl now?" he asked, pulling her close.

"And if I am?" she snapped. Her heart was hammering in her chest. He had better not kiss her again… she'd punch him in the face if he did. Who did he think he was? She wasn't some random girl he could do what he pleased with and then toss aside.

"Come on Faye… you know you're too much for him" he said, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes.

"How would you know?" she asked quietly, looking up into his mismatched eyes. He stayed silent and ran his thumb across her bottom lip. He loosened his grip on her arm and she pulled away. "Now, if you're done acting like some maniac, I'm going back to my date… you should do the same" she said, taking a deep breath. She stepped into the ladies room, leaving Spike behind.

* * *

Faye studied herself in the mirror. She hated the fact that thinking about Spike dating another woman hurt her feelings. It shouldn't and it was highly hypocritical of her as she was on a date with another man. But she couldn't help it.

Bah, she wouldn't let that lunkhead ruin her date. She would enjoy herself, damnit.

She didn't eat anymore escargots. Hell no. She did, however, drink a lot more wine and laughed merrily when Andy asked her to dance. Nobody else was dancing, they were the only couple. It was a little embarrassing but also kind of… freeing. She danced happily and shoved thoughts of dancing with Spike out of her head. Was she insane? She never noticed the lanky man shooting daggers at her and her partner from afar, hiding. When the music stopped, the people around them clapped and cheered for them. They probably thought they were in love and happy. What a load of crap. She really wanted to go home now. She was starving and her feet hurt. Andy led her back to the table.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked.

"Very much" she said. And that was true… but she would be enjoying herself more if he was Spike. What an awful thing to think, but there it was. Andy pulled her closer to him, chair and all. He leaned in close and she licked her lips. He was going to kiss her again. She closed her eyes.

Then she felt herself being lifted into the air and everyone around them gasped. She was thrown over someone's shoulder and the public murmured among themselves, scandalized.

"What the hell?! Spike! Put me down!" she squealed in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Andy… but this one you can't have" she heard Spike say. And then, to her amazement, Andy laughed heartily and didn't protest. Without another word, Spike left the restaurant, carrying her over his shoulder and— was that Ed?—following behind them.

"Spike, put me down! Are you some kind of caveman?!" Faye squealed, beating her fists into his back.

He didn't answer.

"Spike, put me down, you Neanderthal!" Faye shrieked, kicking her legs.

Finally, Spike put her down and grinned goofily at her. "Hungry?" he asked.

"What? How can you act like nothing happened? Like you didn't whisk me away like some troglodyte on a rampage?! What will Andy think? I have to go back and say sorry!" Faye said angrily.

But she wasn't angry… not really. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her belly was alive with butterflies. She was thankful it was nighttime and he couldn't see her blushing or trying to hide the silly grin on her face. "Why did you do that?" she asked as they started walking again.

"Because… Andy is a moron" Spike said lazily.

"Spike-person said we could get pizza… Edward is hungry!" Ed wailed.

"Yeah, we're getting pizza. We can have a nighttime picnic by the beach. Ed, call Jet, will ya?" Spike said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah! Pizza!" Ed said happily, running with the communicator in her hands. They watched her dial Jet and heard her telling him that they were eating pizza and he should come to the ocean.

They walked to a pizzeria and Edward ordered for them. Afterwards, they walked back to the beach (Ed balancing the pizza boxes on her head) and sat on the cool sand, staring at the ocean. Not long after, Jet arrived with Ein.

"What the hell is going on? Why are you all dressed up to the nines to eat pizza?" he asked them.

"Sometimes it's just nice to get all fancy to have a picnic" Faye said with a smile as Jet sat next to them and took a slice.

Ed was playing at the water's edge with Ein, picking up seashells by the moonlight.

"Were you planning on selling Ed to the circus or something, Spike?" Jet asked. Faye laughed.

"Hey, I did my best" Spike said with a grin.

Faye sighed contentedly. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys" she said, looking up at the stars.

"Be in trouble, more than likely" Jet said.

"In jail, possibly" Spike added.

"Geez, nice to know you have such confidence in me" Faye grumbled, shoving the last of her pizza slice into her mouth. She got to her feet and pulled Spike and Jet up by the hand. Pulling them behind her, she ran towards Ed who squealed and began to kick water at them, Ein barking excitedly at their feet. Soon, they were all splashing each other and running around, hollering and playing like little kids under the stars.

Jet picked Edward up on his shoulders ran along the water's edge as Ed spread her arms wide and squealed in delight, letting the breeze hit her face; Ein running as fast as his little legs would allow after them.

Spike grabbed Faye from behind and lifting her, began to turn in circles.

"No! Stop, Spike! I'm gonna puke!" she shrieked with laughter. But he wouldn't stop. He slipped and they came crashing to the muddy ground. "My dress!" she said in mock anger. Somewhere in the back ground, Ed was shrieking with laughter because Jet had fallen flat on his face and Ein had sat on his bald head.

But right now it didn't matter because Faye was on top of Spike and he was looking at her like he had never seen her before and she wanted to kiss him. And because Jet and Edward were far away, she did. She kissed Spike because she fucking wanted to and fuck it all. She leaned down and kissed him softly at first. He wrapped one arm around her back and snaked the other around her waist and deepened the kiss. She almost died when his tongue met hers and because she was an idiot, she pulled away.

She scrambled off of him and avoided his eyes. Jet and Ed were making their way back to them. Had they seen? Ah well. Couldn't change a damned thing now… not that she wanted to. It was just a kiss. It meant nothing. In fact, she was willing to bet Jet probably thought they were sleeping together anyway.

"It's a nice evening" Jet said as he and Ed and Ein sat down next to them.

"Yup. Good thing we didn't spend it cooped up in the old Bebop" Spike said.

"Yeah! Edward likes the ocean… and pizza! Thank you, Spikey-Spike!" the hacker said, hugging Spike's arm.

"Don't mention it… thank you, too, Ed" he said, pulling the rubber-band from her pony-tail and ruffling her wild hair.

Faye smiled. She was glad the night had turned out like this. She'd much rather spend the evening with her family than in a fancy restaurant where she felt out of place. And she had even gotten a kiss out of it.


	21. Session 43: 30 Minute Love Affair

**A/N:** _Ok guys. I debated with myself for a whole day and even consulted with a friend about whether I should publish this chapter in all its zesty glory… but in the end I decided that I would keep it clean, following the R rating of my previous chapters. I omitted the lemon… but if you would like to read the chapter in its entirety, you can shoot me a PM and I'll be more than happy to send you the complete chapter._

* * *

Faye wrapped the towel around her head and shrugged into her bathrobe. The bathroom was so steamy she could hardly see and the cool air that hit her face when she opened the door was bliss. She had purposefully showered last… she didn't want Jet and Spike complaining about there being no hot water because of her.

The Bebop was unusually quiet. She stepped out into the lounge and found Spike lazily flipping through the channels on TV.

"Where're Jet and Ed?" she asked him.

"Jet said he was going off to a bar somewhere… and Ed said she was going to look for her Nathan-friend" Spike replied, a look of pure boredom on his handsome face.

They were still on Ganymede; Jet had prolonged their stay because he had been feeling a little homesick. The day before, he had gone to visit his parents' graves and had been feeling a little down since. Faye and Spike didn't pester him about it. Sometimes a man needed some time to himself.

"How long ago did they leave?" she asked.

"Just now. Not even five minutes ago" Spike answered.

"Oh, I see" she said.

It had been three days since he had crashed her date with Andy… three days since she had kissed him. But things hadn't changed at all. He didn't mention it and so she didn't mention it. It was frustrating but she didn't want to seem desperate or anything. She noticed he wasn't wearing the blue suit, but rather some old pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

"Aren't you doing anything tonight?" she asked curiously.

"Nope. Gotta save up my woolongs" he said.

"What for?" she scoffed. "You never save your woolongs"

"Hark who's talking. I'm surprised you haven't been to a casino yet" Spike said.

"I'm trying to kick that habit, ok? Just like I'm trying to quit smoking" Faye said, hands on her hips.

"That's good" he said, sounding anything but interested.

"You should too, you know. It's not healthy."

At her words, Spike pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one, taking a long drag. She pursed her lips. "Well, whatever, it's really not my business" she said, and left the obnoxious man alone in the lounge. How was it possible that he annoyed her so much yet she still couldn't picture a life without him in it? He was like a drug… he was bad for her, but she needed him. She loved his company.

_And you love _him_, too…_ Faye shook her head. No, that wasn't true. It _wasn't_.

Anyway, she had something she wanted to do, and if Spike wasn't going to do anything tonight, he might be able to help her. She quickly dried herself off, pulled on a pair of tiny, black, cotton shorts and a matching sports-bra. She combed her hair and put it up in a pony-tail. Jogging, she made her way back to the lounge where Spike was still flicking through the channels.

"Spike" she panted, jogging in place, "I need your help"

Spike tore his eyes away from the TV and looked her up and down before answering. "What do you want? I don't have money"

"I don't want your money, you dolt. I want you to help me train. I know you know some sweet moves… and I want to learn. Not that I'm bad or anything... I know a thing or two" she said, jogging her way to the front of the TV and blocking his view. "I just feel that if you were to train with me, I'd be better prepared, you know?"

"No" he replied, tilting his head so that he could see around her.

"Oh come on! Please?" she asked sweetly. "I'll make you dinner if you do" she added hopefully.

"You can cook?" He raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Of course I can cook! Just because I don't like doing it doesn't mean I don't know how" she snapped, feeling slightly offended.

"You're not going to poison me are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Maybe" she answered, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Alright. But I warn you I'm not a good teacher" he said, turning the TV off and tossing the remote aside. "Show me what you know" he added.

"What, here?" she asked, looking around.

"Yeah, here… do we have a special training room on the Bebop, Faye? Because I want to know about it if we do" he said, tossing his t-shirt on the couch. Damn, his body was nice. He walked to her and smiled.

"Don't be an ass… geez" she said, looking away from his abs. Without warning, she threw a punch at him that nearly connected.

"Whoa… not bad, Valentine" he smirked. "I've always loved a woman who can kick my ass" he added with that arrogant—yet sexy—smile.

She threw another punch but this time Spike blocked it, pushing her fist down and flicking her forehead with his free hand.

"Hey!" she said, rubbing the spot he had hit.

"You rely too much on blunt force" he said lazily. "You have to let your movements flow… like water" he said.

Faye snorted. "Ok, Bruce Lee" she said. Spike looked surprised.

"You know the Master?" he said.

"You mean Bruce Lee? Yeah I know him. I was a big fan when I was a little girl… watched all his movies" she said. "Is that where you got your moves from?"

"In great part" Spike answered with a grin.

Without warning, Faye kicked him, but he managed to block it with his arm.

"You've certainly mastered the element of surprise, I'll give you that" he said. "You're just dealing with a master here" he said. Faye rolled her eyes. "See, what you do when the enemy blocks your kick like that, you use your other leg to deliver the blow" he explained. He proceeded to demonstrate the move without actually hurting her.

"That's too hard" Faye complained. "I can't balance like that!"

"Not with an attitude like that" Spike said. "Let's start with a simple move. Come at me"

"What… like, now?"

"Yes, just run at me like you're going to punch me"

"Can I really punch you?"

"You can try" he said with a grin. Faye ran at him but before she could so much as make a move, he had grabbed her wrist and flipped her over so that she landed flat on her back with a thud.

"Ow!" she wailed, grabbing her back with one hand. Spike peered over her.

"Are you alright the—aaagh!" he clutched his face. She had punched him as he had bent down to check on her.

"Element of surprise, baby" she said, jumping to her feet.

"That was actually really good" he said grumpily, rubbing his cheek.

"Never trust women, Spike-o" she said.

"Oh yeah?" he said, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that Spike… stop it!" she said, backing away. At that precise moment, Spike looked like a predator and she felt like the helpless prey. He ran at her and she squealed with both fear and delight as she ran away from him. Something about that dangerous look thrilled her and scared her at the same time. He easily jumped over the furniture and blocked her path so that she collided with him. He began to tickle her.

"NO! STOP IT!" she shrieked, gasping for breath.

They tripped over Ein's food bowl and came crashing down to the metal floor. Still, Spike didn't stop tickling.

"Stop! Spike! I'm gonna pee my pants!" she lied. But the lie worked; he stopped tickling her. But God, he was heavy. He was pinning her down with his body. His warm skin against hers sent shivers up her spine. "Get off" she whispered, looking up into his eyes.

"No. I think I like it here" he said simply. Then without warning, he bent his head down and kissed her. It was a quick, hard kiss, but it still made her feel on fire.

"Why do you do that, Spike? Why do you kiss me and then act like it never happens?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know" he answered. "I'm… I guess I'm a coward"

"What are you afraid of?"

"You"

"Why me?"

"I don't know"

They remained silent for a moment, and then she tangled her fingers in his curls and brought his face down to hers for another kiss. He opened her mouth with his and the kiss became something more. Her whole body tensed, but she liked it. She wasn't going to stop him this time. She wanted him to kiss her. And it appeared he wanted to kiss her too.

In an act of bravery, she grabbed his hand and placed it over her breast. He squeezed gently and then slipped his hand under the fabric of her sports-bra. The contrasting coolness of his fingers against her warm skin made her gasp, but she didn't stop him, and she didn't break the kiss. She adjusted her body beneath his so that he was fully on top of her, resting between her legs. She felt him pressing hard against her inner thigh and it thrilled her. He wanted her… just like she wanted him. He broke the kiss and pulled back so that he was kneeling between her legs. He looked down at her and simply stared.

"What?" she asked nervously.

He reached out to her and pushed her bra up so that it rolled and collected beneath her chin, exposing her breasts to him. And still, he remained silent.

"_What_?" she repeated. The urge to cover herself was threatening to take over.

"You're fucking beautiful" he said, staring at her tits. He pulled her up so she was in a sitting position and she lifted her arms so he could remove the bra completely. She was now semi-naked in front of Spike. Was this really happening? It was surely a dream…

She thought about where they were doing all of these things: in the lounge, in the middle of the Bebop… What if Jet came in? What if Ed?!

"Spike… not here… what if we are caught?" she said.

"Not here" he agreed, getting to his feet. He held out his hand to her and pulled her to her feet when she took it. He pulled her in and bent his head to kiss her again. She broke away and collected her clothes and Spike grabbed her arm and pulled her back into him again. He kissed her yet again, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her from the floor. She wrapped her long legs around his waist and her arms around his neck and he began to make his way down the metal passage.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking down at him with a grin.

"My room" he said. Sure enough, they passed the door to her room and went into Spike's room. It was surprisingly neat. Of course it was; he hardly ever used it. She climbed off him and sat on his bed. He stood in front of her, tracing her lips with his finger. "You're fucking beautiful" he said again.

"Do you really want this Faye? Stop me now if you don't want this" he said shakily.

"I want it, Spike" she said...

* * *

Spike plopped back down on the mattress, looking up at the ceiling. Faye lay on top of him, arms tucked in between their bodies.

"What now?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know" he answered, wrapping his arms around her. "I don't know how this changes things"

"Me either. Does it have to?"

"I don't know" he repeated. "This…" But he trailed off.

"What?" she asked. She could practically sense him battling himself inside his head.

"It didn't mean anything. It was just sex."

Faye tensed up and bit her lip to keep it from trembling. _Don't you fucking cry, Faye Valentine_, she scolded herself. She was an idiot for caring. Of course it hadn't meant anything. It was just sex. Just a very good fuck session and nothing more. Had she really believed it had meant something? Was she that stupid?

"I know" she said, sitting up. "So it shouldn't change a thing, right?"

She fought back the tears that were burning in her eyes.

"Yeah…" he said rather coldly. "It's just that—"

"Don't worry about it Spike" she interrupted him. She pushed herself off of him and looked around for her clothes. "I get it ok? We're adults. It was just sex. No biggie" she said, pulling her shorts on. "Really, no need to get all sentimental" she added, fixing her sports-bra over her breasts.

"Faye—"

"Good night."

With that, she left his room and ran to her own. She closed the door and locked it before leaning against the metal barrier. She was shaking. Her knees were weak but not from the intense pleasure she had felt just moments ago in his arms. She was shaking because her heart was threatening to break. She threw herself on her bed and let the tears flow.

Stupidly, _stupidly_, she had believed that she and Spike had shared something special.

Stupidly, _stupidly_, she thought he might feel something for her.

"It didn't mean anything…" she repeated his words to herself.

Stupidly, _stupidly_… her heart shattered into a million pieces...

* * *

"Faye-Faye? Are you alright?" Ed asked quietly. Faye sniffled and wiped her eyes, opening the cockpit of the Red Tail.

"I'm fine, Ed. Don't worry about it, ok?"

Ed pouted. Faye-Faye's eyes were red and puffy. She was shoving a suit case into the zip craft.

"Why are you crying, Faye-Faye? Don't cry…" Ed said. From her backpack, she pulled out a small, clear bag full of colorful cookies. It was tied with a little pink bow. "Be happy? Edward bought these with her wooly woolongs for the Bebop-Bebop. Smile, Faye-Faye…"

Faye took the little bag Ed handed her and cried harder. "Gosh, I'm sorry Ed. Never mind me, ok? Thank you for this gift. I'll bring something back for you too" she said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

Ed watched the girl climb into her zip craft.

"Do not apologize for crying… without this emotion, we are only robots" Ed said quietly.

Faye closed her eyes, nodded once, and turned to Ed. "Listen… don't tell the guys I've gone, ok? And don't tell them I was crying!" She closed the cockpit once the hacker nodded.

Ed backed up against the wall as the Red Tail zoomed out of the hangar.

"Poor Faye-Faye. I wonder what happened to her, Ein?"

The data dog only whimpered.

* * *

There was a knock on his door and he jumped out of bed immediately. Maybe it was Faye.

He had wanted to let her cool off before going to her room and explaining to her that he was an asshole… that he hadn't meant what he said. That sex with her had meant something… he just didn't know what.

But when he opened the door, no one was there. Instead, there was a small, clear package on the floor, full of colorful cookies.

Ed. It had to have been. He smiled to himself and picked up the package. He wondered if he should go and talk to Faye now, but her door was still shut and he didn't really want to face her after what he had said. It had been a dick thing to do.

Besides, how could he explain to her what was going on inside him when he didn't even know himself?

No, it was batter if he talked to her tomorrow.

* * *

"It was nice meeting you here, Jet. I kinda missed you guys" Gwen said.

Jet smiled. By sheer coincidence, he had found Gwen sitting alone at a bar. He had never expected to see her again, but as fate would have it, here she was. He was walking her back to her car.

"Well, you're always welcome at the Bebop, you know. Come visit us some time" he said.

She grinned. "Alright. I will" she said, unlocking her car. They stayed quiet for a moment. Then she got on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"Good night Jet" she said.

"Good night, Gwen."

He waved at her as she drove away. She was a fine woman. In fact, he really liked her.

He looked up at the evening sky tinged with pink and orange. Suddenly, he thought he saw a familiar zip craft zoom by overhead. Maybe he had mistaken it, but it had kind of looked like the Red Tail.

Ah well, if it was, that girl was probably going to use up her money on a casino or something. Whistling cheerfully to himself, Jet made his way back to the Bebop.

* * *

**Johanna: **_"I've had enough violence to last me a lifetime, and I bear it still; not in scars on my skin, but in the memories that rise up in my mind when I least want them [...]"_

**Nemesis: **_"__We can not escape tragic roads. It is like grasping at the sun & trying to catch air [...]"_

**Johanna: **_"What kind of miracle ripped out your heart, and left you breathing?" _

**Nemesis:** You.

**A/N: **Text inside the parenthesis are quotes from (in order from top to bottom): **Veronica Roth** - _Allegiant_, **Ace Antonio Hall**, and **A.B. Shepherd** - _Lifeboat_.

Also, Ed's quote about crying is from **Eat, Pray, Love**.

Next chapter... **_To the Ghosts from the Past_**!


	22. Session 44: To the Ghosts From the Past

**A/N: **_Hi guys! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait... I haven't felt very well lately; got a fever and all that. And then the death of my beloved Robin Williams (who was a fan of Bebop, I might add) had me distraught and I just couldn't focus on writing. It really hit me hard :(. That, and there was a block in my head about how to best approach this chapter without giving away too little or boring you with long paragraphs of flash backs and monotone story. I hope I did ok! I will be incorporating more background on Nemesis so that it eventually leads up to the Omake chapter I mentioned a few chapters back. _

_Thank you all for your reviews! They mean a lot to me, truly. I know Ed sounded a little out of character, but it is my belief that Ed is a lot more mature than we give her credit for. She grew up all alone plus spends her days immersed in the internet... while she keeps her innocence, I don't think she's completely clueless. Not to mention that she's growing! _

* * *

She sat on the bed, legs crossed like a pretzel, elbows resting on her knees. A cigarette dangled from her fingers. The room was mostly dark, save the soft ethereal moonlight seeping in through the window. It caressed the smooth, pale back of the man sleeping beside her. She took a long drag from the cigarette and ran her finger from the small of his back up between his shoulder blades and finally burying her fingers in his black hair, pulling gently.

He groaned, turned his head and went right back to sleep, snoring ever so softly. She smiled to herself and leaned over him to kiss his cheek.

She loved this man.

This man had saved her life in more ways than one, many years ago. She remembered the day she met him. She had been only eighteen then…

"_Get up." A cold voice in the darkness. "Get up"_

_Strong hands gripped her upper arms and hauled her to her feet. She was too tired… too weak… to fight._

"_What's your name?"_

_Her shoulders were shaken none too gently. "Your _name_"_

"_Johanna" _

"_Start walking…"_

She sighed and swung her legs over the bed, crushing the cigarette butt in the ashtray on the bedside table. It was never fun remembering her past, but it was something that happened more often than she would like. The trips down memory lane were always grim.

She remembered her mother's grey, frail figure in the hospital bed.

"_Johanna… come here baby girl" her mother said hoarsely. "Don't ever lose the fire in your heart… never… lose the fire in your heart…"_

_The abhorrent, steady beeping of the hospital machine had ceased and turned into long, never-ending wail. The doctor and nurses rushed in… _

The last time she saw her mother was the day of her sixth birthday.

Happy, fucking birthday, Jo…

Her father had raised her since, but he had been useless; a good-for-nothing syndicate lap-dog that lived on bloody eye and cheap hookers. He'd saved his own skin by selling her to the Blue Serpent when he'd fucked up an exchange. They had killed him anyway. Not that she cared, she had never cared. She had never loved him. He was but a wisp of smoke in the burning forest of her memories.

She walked to the window and stared at the barren land that was Callisto. In the moonlight, the whiteness seemed almost surreal. She raked her hands through her hair and paced the room.

Once in the hands of the syndicate, her life had taken a dramatic turn. She had been young and therefore she had been made a glorified _geisha_ for the top members of the Blue Serpent. The head of the organization, Liu Cheng, would get offered top woolong for a night with her and because she was such a good piggy bank, she had been given "special treatment."

"_That's it, my little money doll… keep giving my clients the best fuck of their life and soon, you'll be on your way to greatness"_

_Hot, stinky breath fanned her face. A porky hand snaked its way up her leg and between her thighs._

"_But first make papa happy…"_

The other girls—the stupid, _stupid_ girls—had been jealous of her for being Cheng's favorite and had shunned her and bullied her so she had been forced to endure the ordeal on her own.

_No friends for me at the Blue Serpent,_ she thought wryly.

Like _that_ life had been anything to be jealous of… Johanna shook her head and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the bedside table and took a long swig.

When she had been deemed "too old" (the sick fucks liked their girls no older than seventeen) she had been made a sex slave for the ordinary members of the syndicate.

No higher positon, no achieved "greatness" like Cheng had promised; only a common whore for horny, lonely syndicate men.

But Nemesis had saved her.

Johanna looked back at the sleeping man and smiled again.

Ok, so it hadn't been a fairy tale rescue. He hadn't swept into the castle to rescue the princes in distress. Nemesis was not a knight in shining armor or anything. It hadn't been love at first sight. He hadn't even _meant _to save her. He had an agenda of his own and she had only been a stepping stone to get him closer to his goal.

She didn't know all the details of his personal vendetta, she had never asked. And it really didn't matter to her. He had saved her and that was what mattered. Soon after, she had fallen in love with him. Perhaps she had been longing for someone all along, maybe she was just dumb. But he was cold; he was dangerous… but also gentle. At least with her, anyway. She had never met anyone like him. He was just as tortured and lost as she was. Somewhere along the way he had fallen in love with her too. Or at least she hoped so.

No, she knew he did. It wasn't fair to doubt him. He loved her. He had sacrificed so much for her. It was her fault that Nemesis had been caught and sent to prison; the reason he had never finished his personal business. She owed him so much.

"Jo... Come here" he commanded, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to look at him and grinned.

"I didn't know you were awake" she said.

"Come here" he said, his tone softer now. He patted the empty spot next to him.

Like an obedient little girl, she walked to him, sliding into bed beside him. She nestled in the crook of his arm, resting her head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing awake in the middle of the night?" he asked, kissing the top of her head.

"Thinking" she replied.

"About what?"

"Nothing nice"

He tilted her head up and kissed her lips.

They remained in silence.

* * *

"Why are you so happy?" Spike muttered as Jet whistled in the kitchen. He was making breakfast.

"Eh? Oh, no reason" Jet said dismissively.

"Jet-person met the Gwen-lady yesterday" Ed said as she passed by. Jet's eyes widened.

"How do you know, Ed?" he asked the hacker.

"Ed saw you when Ed was looking for the Nathan-friend" the girl said simply as she walked away.

"Is that right?" Spike asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Jet grumbled.

"Yeah, it was a lucky coincidence, really. We kind of patched things up… or I did, anyway. I was an ass last time. Anyway, she might come visit us soon" the big man explained.

"I'm starving" Spike said, rubbing his stomach.

"Breakfast is almost ready. Where's Faye? Usually she'd be the first one nagging about food" Jet said, grabbing some plates from the metal pantry.

"I don't know… I'll go check on her" Spike replied.

Might as well. They had some talking to do anyway. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants, Spike walked out of the kitchen and made his way down the cold corridor. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on Faye's door. No answer. Scratching his head, he knocked again. Silence.

"Um… Faye? Are you alright in there?" he asked, tapping on the door lightly.

"Faye-Faye is not here" Ed said, startling the shit out of him.

"Geezus, Ed… don't sneak up on people like that, it's not healthy" he said, rubbing his chest. "How do you know she's not here?"

"Ed saw Faye-Faye go away last night. She flew away like a sad, sad bird" Ed said.

Spike stared at Edward for a moment.

"Did she say where she was going?" he asked the hacker. Ed shook her head. "Well did she say she was coming back?"

"Yup. She said she'd bring Ed something nice" the red-haired girl said happily.

But knowing Faye, she had probably only said that to bribe Ed.

Where had she gone? He had to find her. But where to start looking?

He made his way back to the kitchen and sat down at the metal counter.

"So? Where is she?" Jet said, setting a plate full of eggs, sausages and hash browns in front of him.

"She's gone" Spike answered.

"What? Where to?" Jet asked.

"I don't know"

"Well is she coming back?" Jet insisted.

Spike shrugged. Jet narrowed his eyes at the lanky man who stabbed his food moodily.

"That girl always gets in trouble when she's out on her own, Spike. You better go get her" Jet said.

"Why me?!" Spike asked even though he knew he would go looking.

"Because she hadn't left the Bebop in a long time and if she left now, it's probably because you made her upset" Jet said, stabbing the air with his chopsticks.

"What the hell kind of thinking is that?! Why do you automatically assume I did something to her?" Spike exploded.

"You're talking to Jet, Spike. Need I say more?"

Spike sighed and stabbed his hash-browns with his own sticks.

Fuck.

* * *

She had meant to return to the Bebop. She really had. She had planned on getting drunk, playing some poker, sleep in a seedy motel and then return to the Bebop.

But somehow, her plans had been changed. In her drunken rage, she had crashed her Red Tail into another zip craft. And as mother fate would have it, the zip craft belonged to none other than Ramesses. That man kept popping into her life for some reason. She thought he lived on Mars, so what was he doing all the way out here anyway? Really, it was _his_ fault, not hers.

Well, whatever. The Red Tail was now being hauled away by Ramesses's zip craft. They were making their way to Earth. One of his "contacts" was supposedly a very good mechanic that would fix their ships (though truthfully hers was the one that was most messed up).

"Hey… don't worry about it, ok? If you go on that date with me, all is forgiven" he said with a grin.

Faye pursed her lips. If all it took was a date and not woolongs, then yeah, she'd definitely do it. Besides, it would be a welcomed interruption to her thoughts about a certain fuzzy haired lunkhead.

"Why don't we make sure we reach Earth first and then worry about the formalities" Faye said.

Ramesses laughed. It was a nice, deep sound. It soothed her.

"We'll make it. I think…" he said.

Hours later, she was outside a very familiar shop. If she remembered correctly, the owner of this place was Spike's friend. Some old geezer or something, she couldn't remember that well.

"This is my good friend Doohan. Doohan, this lovely young lady is Faye" Ramesses said.

"Aye, I know you" Doohan said, looking at Faye. "You're Spike's comrade, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's right. I didn't think you'd remember me" Faye said.

"So you two know each other?" Ramesses asked curiously.

"We've met before in passing" Doohan explained. "Miles, drag the machines inside. Let's see how much damage was done"

Miles, a dark-skinned young man with a cheerful face, nodded and went outside.

"Well, it's going to be a while. Might as well make yourselves at home" Doohan said, wiping his hands on a dirty old rag.

Faye sighed and sat on the only seat available. She had said she was going to give up smoking but fuck it. She needed her death stick right about now. She lit it and welcomed the bitter smoke into her lungs.

"That's not a good habit" Ramesses said.

"I know"

"Why don't you put it out and I'll take you out for some lunch? There aren't many places around here, but I'm sure we can find something" he said.

"Ok" Faye said as she crushed the cigarette with her high heel. "Let's go then"

* * *

"Hey Spike… how have you been?"

To Spike's surprise, it was Doohan.

"Yo"

"You're friend's here and I thought I'd give you a call to see how you've been. I haven't seen you in a long time" Doohan said.

"My friend?" Spike asked, perking up.

"Yeah, that pretty young thing… what's her name again? They just told me… that's right. Faye. Faye is here" the older man said.

"Faye is there? Who is they? When did she get there?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, she's here with a friend of mine. Name's Ramesses. They got here not too long ago" Doohan said. Spike could see Miles in the background running around the shop.

"Well, how's about I drop by and say hi in person, old man?" Spike said, lighting a cigarette.

"Alright, that's fine with me, boy" Doohan said. "I'll be here"

With that, the screen went black.

So Faye was there with another man, huh?


	23. Session 45: I Really Don't Like You

Faye took a sip from her sweet tea. They were sitting inside a tiny, dark restaurant. Only five tables adorned the place and at the moment, they were completely alone with the waitress and the cook. Somehow this reminded Faye of a time with Spike. She slapped herself mentally. She was here to forget that jerk, not think about him.

She looked across the table at Ramesses who was concentrating on his ice cream sundae. He smiled.

"So, Ramesses… I thought you lived on Mars. What were you doing on Ganymede, anyway?" she asked.

"Business" he said simply, winking at her.

"Business? What do you mean? You own a business on Ganymede?"

Could it be that the man to solve all her financial troubles was sitting across the table from her?

"No. Just a job I had to do" he explained.

"What kind of job?" Faye asked.

Ramesses shoved a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. Faye raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"I'm a professional hit-man" he said after a moment.

"You… what?"

"I kill for a price"

"I know what a hit-man is. I just didn't expect it"

But she supposed he was the type. Tall, quiet, mysterious… yeah, it wasn't hard to imagine him as a professional killer.

"Surprised?" he asked.

"Yes. Well, no, not really" she replied. At that moment, the waitress came back with their lunch: a greasy burger and crispy fries for each. Faye's stomach rumbled and her mouth watered at the smell.

"You're a bounty hunter, I knew it wouldn't shock you" Ramesses said.

"Do you have a bounty on your head? Maybe I'll make a pretty woolong with you" Faye said before taking a huge bite out of her burger. Ramesses laughed.

"No bounty on my head. I'm a professional" he said, shoving a couple of fries into his mouth. "Would you turn me in?"

"You bet'cha. I need the money" she said, dipping a fry in some ketchup. "Do you have any family?"

Ramesses raised his eyebrows but didn't answer. Faye didn't insist.

She took another bite of her food and wondered about the man sitting across from her.

* * *

Ein was startled when the Tomato beeped. He stood up and went up to the computer to check it out. An email. He made his way back to the hacker. She was sleeping on the cold, metal floor, snoring. He barked once and nuzzled her cheek.

"Ein… what is?" she said sleepily. The dog whimpered. "An email for Ed? From who?" The girl crawled her way to the Tomato.

**Dear Edward,**

**It has been a long time and I hope you remember me. It's Nathan. I saw that the Bebop was docked here in Ganymede again and I wanted to know if you would honor me with your presence? I can come by and pick you up around 6 pm. Please let me know.**

**Best wishes,**

**Nathan A.**

Ed's lips formed a perfect round O and then she squealed in delight.

"He found me!" she giggled. She began to type her answer immediately.

**Dear Nathan-friend! **

**Edward will be ready at 6! See you soon!**

**Ed**

She pressed enter and waited anxiously for a reply. No more than a minute later, another email.

**Great!**

**Thanks, Ed! Can't wait to see you. I'll be there at 6.**

**Nathan A. **

"Edward has a date-date!" she squealed, grabbing Ein and twirling him around. "But what to wear? Come on Ein! Let's go!"

The hacker grabbed her EMC and sprinted out of her room. She zoomed by the lounge but crashed into Jet.

"Whoa, there, Ed, slow down! Where are you going in such a hurry?" he asked.

"Shopping!" Ed chirped.

"Shopping? What for?" he asked curiously. The hacker wasn't prone to shopping sprees… unlike a certain shrew.

"I have a date-date!" she whispered, blushing.

"WHAT?! With who?!"

"With the Nathan-friend!"

"Now wait just a minute, Ed, I don't even know this young man—" Jet began, but Ed giggled and ran up the metal stairs.

"Bye Jet-person! I have to go shopping!"

"But wait! Gwen is supposed to be here later! She was looking forward to seeing you lot!" Jet roared after the girl.

"Sorry, Jet-person!" he heard Ed say from far away. A few seconds later he heard the main door open then close again. He grumbled.

Always doing whatever they wanted, the ingrates. Ah well, he'd have to apologize to Gwen, but that didn't mean they couldn't have a nice evening together. Hell, it might be better that the crazies weren't here to embarrass him. Suddenly in a better mood, he began to whistle to himself as he began to clean his beloved Bebop.

* * *

It was evening by the time Spike landed the Swordfish II at Doohan's aircraft deck. He opened the cockpit and stretched his arms before jumping out, stretching his long legs. Shrugging out of his blue coat, he tossed it over his shoulder and walked to the shop. He could hear people talking loudly and laughing. He recognized Doohan's voice, and Mile's enthusiastic laugh. He caught Faye's voice, too… probably complaining about something. And an unfamiliar voice; it had to be Ramesses.

He stood at the entrance and took in the scene in front of him. Miles was cracking jokes while trying to tune his radio, much to Doohan's annoyance. The older man was bent over the Red Tail, muttering to himself. Faye was standing right next to him wearing an oversized, grease-stained, beige jumpsuit and big brown gloves. Spikes eyes scanned the room and immediately zeroed in on Ramesses who was wearing heavy work pants the same color as Faye's jumpsuit and just as dirty, but the prat was shirtless. Did he really have to be shirtless?

"Yo" Spike said.

Miles grinned. "Spike! I didn't expect to see you here!" he said enthusiastically.

Faye's eyes widened, then narrowed. She completely ignored him.

"Spike… you made it" Doohan said, straightening up. "Come in boy, why are you out there?"

Spike made his way inside and threw his coat on the only available chair.

"This is Ramesses… Ramesses, this is Spike" Doohan said. The two men shook hands.

"Don't I know you?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, we've met before" Ramesses replied.

"What are you doing here Spike?" Faye asked, unable to control herself.

"I've come to visit my good friend, Doohan" Spike answered coolly, looking at her. Faye felt a chill run down her spine. It was a good chill. A chill she didn't want to feel, thank you very much.

She poked her nose in the air and turned away. "Well don't get in the way, we're working" she said.

"What did you do this time?" Spike asked casually, lighting a smoke.

Faye wheeled around and glared at him. "Why do you assume it was me who did anything?!" she huffed.

"So it wasn't you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… yeah, it was me, but—" Faye began, blushing.

"I rest my case" Spike said smoothly.

The other men were very clearly uncomfortable with the exchange. It was obvious there was tension in the air between the two Bebopers. Miles was concentrating on tuning his radio, Doohan had bent over the Red Tail again and Ramesses had walked over to another zip craft Spike didn't recognize and had begun to tinker with it.

Faye walked right up to Spike and poked her finger hard into his chest.

"You've got some nerve" she hissed so that only he could hear her. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him along behind her, leaving the others curiously looking after them.

"What the hell are you doing here, Spike?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Like I said, Valentine, I'm here to visit an old friend" Spike answered, flicking the half-smoked cigarette away.

"You're not following me, are you?"

"And how the hell would I know where you're headed, dear? You never said you were leaving and I'm not a psychic. It was a coincidence, that's all" he said, yawning.

Faye was glaring at him and he struggled to keep his smile hidden. He knew he was supposed to be apologizing and trying to get her to come back but irritating her was _so_ fun.

"Fine. Whatever. I don't care. Just… just stay out of my sight" she said.

"You're angry with me" he said softly, reaching out a hand and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She flinched and stepped away from him.

"No, I'm not" she said, looking away.

"Yes you are. And you have a reason to be. I was a jerk and I'm… I'm sorry, ok?" Spike said. He wanted to say more. He wanted to say he hadn't meant what he had said that night. That sleeping with her had shaken him as much as it had her. That she made him feel _something_ inside and that he wasn't sure what it was, but it was a good feeling. The words never came. They refused. They stayed locked in his chest. Instead, like the idiot he could be, he said "I'm sure we can try again."

He had meant it as a joke. But the swift, stinging blow to his cheek proved Faye didn't think it was funny. She had slapped him. Hard.

"What the hell do you think I am, Spiegel?!" she hissed. "A _booty_ call? Well I have news for you, you giant jerk, I _am_ not a booty call and you can't expect me to just sleep with you whenever you want me to!"

"Sorry! I was kidding!" he said, rubbing his cheek.

"Ha ha, look how I'm laughing!"

"Relax! Besides, it's not like you've been lonely… been cozying up with Ramesses over there, it seems" he said. He knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left his mouth.

"_What?_ Are you implying that I'm sleeping with Ramesses too? So now I'm a whore? Geez Spike, you're so kind" she seethed.

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me" he muttered. His cheek still hurt and he wanted to annoy her for slapping him.

"Fuck you Spiegel. How dare you… how dare you when your own girl—" Faye began, but Spike grabbed her upper arm and squeezed it tightly.

"Stop right there, Valentine" he said dangerously. She had crossed a line and now he was angry. He wouldn't accept her talking trash about Julia. "I don't care how many beds you've been in… I couldn't care less. I've never cared, so you shut your mouth about things you don't know"

Faye glared at him and yanked her arm free.

"Of course you never cared, Spiegel. You're so blind it's not even funny. Keep clinging to the memories. I hope they keep you company when you're old and alone" she said before turning on her heel and walking away.

Well fuck. That hadn't turned out the way he had planned at all.

* * *

Faye had run away as fast as her legs could carry her. She had ended up at the beach and she sat at the water's edge, burying her toes in the wet sand. The sun was almost completely set and the last of the orange and pink was fading from the sky. She angrily wiped the tears from her eyes.

She knew she had been wrong to talk about Julia. It was wrong and she hadn't meant to hurt Spike. Ok, maybe she had, but still. It had been wrong, just like it had been wrong of Spike to say those awful things to her.

One thing was clear to her now though. It would be impossible for her to return to the Bebop for a while. She would return, but only when her wounds healed. She was a strong woman. She had endured worse things. She just didn't want to cause any trouble for Jet and if she went back with Spike now, it would be inevitable that they would fight and cause unnecessary tensions within the Bebop.

She would call Jet and let him know.

* * *

**Ed: **Next chapter will show what happened back at the Bebop-Bebop with Jet-person!

**Jet: **And don't think I won't talk to this young man of yours, Ed. I want to know everything about him. Name, age, address... intent. Everything.

**Ed:** Next chapter...**_ Today was a Fairy Tale_**!


	24. Session 46: Today was a Fairy Tale

**A/N: **_So I thought I'd give a little insight to what happened on the Bebop with Jet and on Ed's little date with her friend (but this chapter is mostly about Jet lol) meanwhile the drama was happening on Earth! Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Ed pressed a finger to her lips. She realized she knew absolutely nothing about fashion. She suddenly wished Faye-Faye was here to help her out.

"Oh Ein. Ed doesn't know what to wear" she said with a pout. Even though the data dog had stayed behind, Ed was so used to talking to him she did so even when he wasn't around.

"Ed?"

The red-haired girl turned to see who had called her name.

"Gwen-lady! Jet said you were coming to the Bebop-Bebop!" the hacker said cheerfully as she waved.

"I am, later on tonight. What are you doing here? How are you?" Gwen asked with a kind smile.

"Edward is looking for something nice to wear" the young girl said.

"Oh? Is that right? Special occasion?" Gwen asked.

"Yup! The Nathan-friend is coming to see Ed!"

"Well what a coincidence. I'm here looking for something to wear too. Mind if we shop together?" Gwen asked.

"I don't mind! Maybe you can help Edward choose something nice!" Ed said happily.

"Well I sure don't mind. Come on, this is where all the nice things are" Gwen said, and together, she and the young girl went to another section of the boutique.

Time passed by a lot quicker than either had anticipated. In the end, they had agreed that the best choice for Ed was a simple, cream-colored sundress, considering her bright red hair.

"Now, these shoes are just lovely for that dress" Gwen said, showing Ed a pair of low heels.

"Um… Edward doesn't like wearing shoes" Ed said, wiggling her toes. Indeed, she was barefoot.

"Hmm. Well, how about these cute little sandals? Try them on! Their so thin it's like you're not wearing any shoes… and they have the cute little bow and everything" Gwen gushed.

Ed tried on the sandals and wiggled her toes again. "Ed likes them!" the girl said, walking around the dressing room.

"Well good! I think that completes our shopping! Are we ready to go?" Gwen asked. Ed nodded and they went to go pay for their items.

Gwen had planned to go to her room and get ready there but the young girl walking next to her seemed so lost that she had decided to accompany her to the Bebop and help her get ready. She hoped Jet wouldn't mind.

* * *

Jet shook his head as he watched the women on his ship. The older one was combing the younger one's hair with some sort of hair thing. He didn't know what it was but it was making Ed's hair nice and smooth and not at all like the usual wild mess.

They had come back about an hour ago, their arms full of shopping bags. Jet had not been expecting Ed back so early, and he had certainly not been expecting Gwen, so he had greeted her in nothing but a towel around his waist. That had been a tad embarrassing.

They had spent the next hour getting Ed ready for her date. It surprised Jet how much Ed had actually grown up. Still, she remained the innocent little girl he had met on that cliff on Earth so long ago. Ok, not that long. He wasn't old or anything…

After a few more minutes, Gwen was finished.

"Alright. I think we're done Ed. If we just wrap this ribbon around your hair like this… yes, that's it. Lovely. You have a natural blush to your cheeks so you don't need anything at all. Maybe some lip gloss…" Gwen rummaged through her purse and pulled out a little tube of gloss and handed the tiny bottle to Ed. "Go get your shoes, it's almost six!" she said. After Ed had applied the lip gloss, she ran back to her room and came back wearing a pair of sandals. This surprised Jet as he had never seen her wear shoes before. She smoothed her hair and twirled around, enjoying the way the soft fabric swished around her knees.

"What does the Jet-person think?" she said, standing in front of him and doing a little curtsy. She looked at him and grinned.

She was growing up so fast.

"I think you look just fine, Ed" he said gruffly. He felt a tightening in his chest. Was he getting… _emotional_? He cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. "You look just peachy."

Edward giggled and suddenly threw her skinny arms around the big man.

"It's five minutes till six o'clock tea time!" Ed chirped. "Ed is excited!"

"Ed, don't forget to take your communicator. And I'd feel better if you had a weapon with you" Jet said.

"Jet-person! Where is Ed supposed to put a deadly weapon?" Ed asked, pouting.

"I never said a deadly weapon" Jet replied.

"I'll tell you what, Ed. I'll let you borrow my purse. It's white so it matches your outfit. You can put a few things in there if you'd like" Gwen offered.

"Yeah! Thank you Gwen-lady!" Ed said, taking the purse that was offered to her. She stashed the communicator inside, along with a Taser Jet brought back from his room.

Next minute there was someone at the door.

"Wait here" he told Ed. He went to go answer it. Ed stared at Gwen with wide eyes before grinning.

Jet came back moments later.

"Well, he seems like a polite, young man. You have fun Ed. And be careful. And if anything happens… anything at all… you call me and I'll go get you" he said.

"Alright! I will! Bye bye Jet-person! Bye bye Gwen-lady!" Ed said. Ein followed her to the door. "I'm sorry Ein… you're going to have to stay behind again" she said to her dog. Ein whimpered and sat down, watching her go.

Ed walked outside and came face to face with Nathan.

"Wow… hi Ed!" he said, blushing.

"Hello, Nathan-friend" she said. For the first time in her life, she felt a little shy.

"You look very nice" he said.

"Thanks!"

"Well… I guess we should go now. I can't drive yet so Will is going to be driving us around" Nathan said.

"Who is Will?" Ed asked curiously as she followed Nathan.

"My chauffer"

Ed stared wide-eyed at the expensive car in front of her. So Nathan was a rich guy.

"So uh… I was thinking maybe we could go watch a movie?" Nathan asked as Will opened the door for Ed. She climbed inside and marveled at the interior. How luxurious.

"Ok. Ed has never seen a movie at a theater before!" she said as he climbed into the car beside her.

"Ok! Sounds like a plan then"

They rode in silence for a few minutes.

"I met your dad" Nathan said.

Ed stared at him. For a moment she had thought he was talking about the father-person.

"That wasn't my father-person!" she said cheerfully. "That was the Jet-person!"

"Jet? _The_ Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh my God. I've wanted to meet him for a long, long time… and when I do, I don't even know it's him!" Nathan said. "He's just as intimidating as I imagined, though"

Ed giggled. "Jet-person is like a big teddy bear" she said.

A few moments later, they arrived at the movie theater. Ed was extremely excited; she wanted to do some back flips. She fought hard with herself to refrain from doing just that. She was wearing a dress and she didn't want the Nathan-friend seeing her undies. He offered her his arm and she felt really fancy as she took it and he guided her inside.

* * *

"I just can't believe she's growing up so fast. Since when did she become interested in boys? I much prefer her interested in computers" Jet said, rubbing his bald head.

He was sitting on a chair in the kitchen. Gwen was cooking; it was nice to have someone else doing the cooking for a change. She had refused his offer to help and everything.

"Well, how old is she now?" Gwen asked.

"Fourteen… or is it fifteen? I can't really remember" Jet replied.

"It's around that age you know. She's not a little kid anymore, yet she's not a woman either. It's a tender age and everything is going to feel new. I'm just glad there's a woman on this ship that can help her with the changes with her body" Gwen said.

Jet closed his eyes and shook his head. He didn't really want to know about these changes. He could very well do without knowing anything about them. He was suddenly very grateful Faye was around too.

"I just don't want her to get all caught up in that stuff" Jet said.

"It had to happen sooner or later. She's a nice kid and very smart, from what I recall. She'll be fine" Gwen said, stirring something on the stove. "You don't mind that I got here earlier than expected, do you?" she added.

"What? No, not at all" Jet replied.

"Well, that's good. Too bad Faye and Spike aren't here"

"Ah, those two are always doing whatever the hell pleases them"

"Does it bother you?"

Jet sighed heavily. "No. Not really. I mean, sometimes, yeah. It would be nice to know that there is someone I can depend on. But it's always touch and go with those two. I never know when one of them will up and leave without a word. Then they come back like nothing happened. To be fair, they haven't deserted me in a long, long time."

Jet surprised himself by talking so much about his crew.

"Did they leave today?"

Jet shook his head. "No. Faye left but I'm not sure when… she didn't say. I sent Spike after her"

"Did they have a row?"

"No idea. But that woman can get into a whole mess of trouble if left on her own… I don't feel like bailing her out this time" Jet said gruffly. Gwen smiled.

"Sounds like you care more than they know"

"What?! I don't. I couldn't care less what those ingrates do. Maybe I should let them handle their own business once in a while… that'll teach them" Jet raged.

Gwen grinned. "So you _do_ care. I think that is very nice. I think you're a good person"

Jet blushed. "I wasn't very nice last time" he said guiltily.

"Are you still hung up on that? I told you to let it go. It's alright. I didn't expect any help, really. It's a personal mission. You weren't under any obligation to help me… you fixed my ship and that's all I needed" she said, removing the chicken from the oven.

She loaded their plates with food: chicken breasts smothered in mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes and salad. Jet poured them some wine.

It was a lovely dinner. Jet couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed a dinner so much. No talk about bounty hunting. No obnoxious remarks about his cooking. No bickering among his crew. Just nice talk with a nice lady. This was very nice indeed.

After dinner, they washed the dishes together. For some odd reason, Jet thought of Alisa. The last time dinner had been so peaceful had been with her. And they had washed dishes together, just like this. He shook his head and smiled. That had been a long, long time ago too. No need to remember the past. He knew very well what dwelling on the past did to men. He had Spike as a prime example.

After the dishes were done, he and Gwen sat on the yellow couch, drinking more wine.

"Are you still bent on trying to catch the man who killed your partner?" he asked Gwen.

She sighed and took a sip from her glass. "I don't know. I know Robertson wouldn't want me to. He was a gentle soul. He wouldn't want me to spend my days searching" she said after a moment.

"And what do you want?" Jet asked.

"I don't know. For so long I was full of anger and determination to catch this man. But now I'm not so sure. Maybe. If I ever come face to face with him, I will probably kill him. Right now I'm not actively looking for him anymore"

"That's good. Revenge can be all-consuming" Jet said, thinking back to Spike again.

"Why do you say that?" Gwen asked.

"My buddy Spike. He was hell-bent on getting revenge and he was stuck in the past. Well it almost killed him"

"And what happened to your arm?"

"I was betrayed by my partner" Jet said grimly.

"Partner? You mean your wife?"

Jet shook his head. "No. I used to work for the ISSP. My partner set me up. But that's history and I moved on a long time ago"

"Were you ever married?"

"No. You?"

"No. But I always thought I would end up getting married to a cop and having a bunch of babies. Turns out I became a cop and never had children"

"Life has a way of messing up the best laid plans" Jet said. Gwen nodded.

They both reached for the wine bottle that was on the center table and bonked their heads in the process.

"Ow!"

"Are you alright? Sorry!"

"Yes, I'm ok, are you?"

"Yeah"

They both started laughing; full on laughter that had them clutching their sides. It wasn't nearly as funny, but the wine had made them a little tipsy and everything was funnier than it normally would have been.

Gasping for breath, Gwen doubled over in laughter, leaning against Jet's arm as he laughed, holding his head with one hand. When their fit of laughter died down, they remained still for a moment. Gwen looked up at the big man and his grey eyes were looking down at her. She parted her lips slightly and he bent his head down to kiss her.

Her hair was loose, falling in soft folds around her shoulders and Jet buried his hands in the softness, pull her closer to him. One large arm snaked its way around her small waist and pulled her onto his lap. She was straddling him now, her small hands clutching his shirt. And still, he kept kissing her, hard.

"I… I'm sorry" she breathed when they finally broke the kiss.

"Are you?"

She shook her head. "No. I guess I'm not"

"Good"

He cradled her head in his hands and kissed her again. This was different. This wasn't like the usual women at the bar he occasionally slept with. This felt right. He pulled away after a moment.

"Ed might come home" he said, staring at her blue eyes.

She nodded. "I should… I should probably go because if I stay…" but she trailed off.

If she stayed, she might be crazy enough to seduce this man. Was she crazy?

Just then, the door to the Bebop was opened. Gwen scrambled out of Jet's lap and combed her hair.

"Jet-person!"

It was Ed. Her face was flushed and she looked about ready to explode.

"What? What is it, Ed?! What's wrong?!" Jet said, jumping to his feet. If that brat had tried anything, he would teach the son a bitch a lesson.

"The Nathan-person kissed me!" Ed said happily.

"WHAT?!"

"Yes! Right here!" Edward said, poking her cheek.

Jet spluttered. He couldn't be mad. He had no reason to. Edward wasn't his daughter… and besides… he had been kissing Gwen moments before. Here… in the middle of the Bebop. This was the sort of thing he had expected from Spike and Faye, not himself.

Really, had the world gone mad?


	25. Session 47: To the Ghosts from the Past2

**A/N: **_Hi guys! I bring you a double update! I was on a roll tonight, lol! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one too. I thought it was time to start revealing a little bit more about Nemesis and his past, though I think I'm going to keep every juicy detail to myself so I can explain properly in my next fic which will be centered on pre-Bebop days. I'll be publishing that Omake chapter real soon, I just have to figure out how much info I'm going to give in this fic and stuff. _

_Anyway, I'll try to write as many chapters as I can as this is my last week of vacation and I'll be starting school again next Monday. Don't fret, school has never stopped me from writing, but it has put a damper on how often I do it. I'll try for at least two chapters a week!_

* * *

Faye let the communicator ring. She was about to give up, when Jet finally answered.

"Faye? What's going on? Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm on Earth" she replied.

"What are you doing over there?"

"Fixing the Red Tail"

"What? Why? What happened?"

"I… kind of… crashed it" she said, knowing full well that Jet was about to scold her.

"When? Are you alright? Who's fixing it?"

"Last night. I'm fine. Doohan is fixing it"

"Damn it, Faye. You can never go out on your own without getting into some kind of trouble. I told Spike he should go get you… did he?"

Faye frowned. "Why did you send him after me? And how did you even know where to look?"

Jet sighed. "I didn't. I sent him out there to look for you. I thought you were still here on Ganymede. I expected him to look for you at the casinos. Did he find you or not? I can tell him where you are and he can bring you back. Or I can set course for Earth"

Faye shook her head. "No! It's ok. Really, I'm fine. I wanted to stay here on Earth until my ship is fixed. I need a few days. I'll let you know when I'm coming home, ok?" she said, running a hand through her hair.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jet asked.

Faye nodded.

"Well. If you're sure I guess I have no choice. If you need anything… let me know, ok? I don't have much cash but maybe I can go to Earth and lend Doohan a hand if he needs it and you can't afford it."

Faye felt a knot form in her throat. Jet really was a swell guy. A real good person.

"Thanks, Jet. I should be fine. I have a little bit of money saved up" she said.

"You? I don't believe it. Poker Alice has money?" he teased.

Faye pursed her lips. "Yeah, old man, I'm trying to stop gambling!"

Jet laughed. "Alright, alright, don't get salty—" but he was cut off.

"Faye-Faye!"

Ed came into view inside the tiny screen. Her hair was nice and smooth and she was wearing a ribbon in it.

"Edward? What happened to you?" Faye asked.

"Edward went on a date! Edward got a kiss-kiss!" the young girl said happily.

"What?! When?! With who?!" Faye asked, unable to believe her ears.

"A kiss-kiss! From the Nathan-friend! Today!" Ed chirped, hugging Ein close to her face.

"Wow! I'm impressed, Ed! How was it?"

Ed giggled. "Jet was kissy-kissing the Gwen-lady, too!"

"WHAT?!"

"EDWARD!" Jet thundered in the background.

Faye heard a female cough in the background, and knew it was Gwen, though she couldn't see her. Ed picked up the communicator and seconds later, Gwen came into view. She was clasping her hands over her mouth, looking mortified.

"Damn. You guys sure seem to be getting a lot more action than I am" Faye muttered. But she was amused nonetheless. She had always known Gwen and Jet had a thing for each other. Call it a woman's intuition.

"Bye Faye-Faye!" Ed said, and without waiting for a reply, she ended the call. Faye smiled wryly. Yep. Sounded like a normal day at the Bebop, alright.

She dreaded going back into Doohan's shop. She didn't know if Spike was there and she didn't want to see him. Not now. Not anytime soon. She tiptoed her way to the shop and peered around the entrance.

"You hiding from someone?"

Faye wheeled around. It was Ramesses, and he was standing behind her, peering into Doohan's shop too. He looked down at her and grinned.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Well, you're not going in but looking inside to see who's there" he said simply.

"I don't want to see… _him_" she replied.

"You mean your partner?" he asked.

"He's just a crew mate. He's not my partner" Faye snapped.

Ramesses raised his eyebrows. "Well, he's gone"

"What? He's gone? When did he leave?" Faye asked. Somehow the news made her feel worse.

"Not too long ago. He said he had some stuff to take care of and left" Ramesses explained.

"Did he… did he mention where he was going?"

Ramesses shook his head. Faye sighed.

"Well, do you know how long it will take for Doohan to fix this mess?" she asked.

"About another day or two. Can't be sure, he's the master mechanic, not me"

Faye pouted.

"Anxious to get home?"

"No, not really" she replied. "I don't want to return for a good long while"

"That bad, huh?" Ramesses said. "Well, this may seem too forward… and I'll understand if you slap my head right off my shoulders, but… maybe you could partner up with me"

Faye stared at him. "Partner up with you?" she repeated stupidly.

"Yeah. I mean, strictly business, that's all. I mean, even though you look cute in that greasy jump suit, I don't want you to seduce me or anything…" he said, tongue in cheek.

"As if" she replied, smacking his arm playfully. "But seriously. You're a hit-man. I don't kill for money" Faye said, leaning back against the wall of Doohan's shop.

"I never said be a hit-woman. Maybe I want to catch a bounty or something" he said, leaning against the wall beside her. Faye pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"Don't you have money?" she asked after taking a drag.

"Do you want to partner up or not, missy?"

Faye mulled the thought over for a moment. Would she? It would definitely help her financial situation. He was a professional, so he might help her catch some decent bounties. Besides, it would probably make Spike jealous.

No, it probably wouldn't. Hadn't that jerk said he had never cared? Why would he care now? The more she thought about it, the more the idea of partnering with Ramesses seemed to grow on her.

"Alright. Partners" she said, extending her hand to him. He shook it and grinned.

"Partners" he repeated.

* * *

Spike lay inside the Swordfish II. It was uncomfortable, but there was nowhere else to sleep in this forsaken place. Doohan slept in the shop. Miles… well, who knew where Miles slept. He probably had a home nearby. The spare room would probably be Faye's for the duration of her stay. Or maybe it would be Ramesses'.

_Or maybe both…_ Spike shook his head. He couldn't think about that. He _wouldn't_. It wasn't any of his business anyway. Not after what he had said to Faye.

Sure, she had crossed the line, but it really hadn't been that bad. Since when had he become so sensitive about Julia? He had let her go. So why had he reacted that way?

When had he gone from loving the woman to making her an untouchable icon? She was an ordinary woman. She was beautiful and deadly, yes, but ordinary in the end. All the things that made Julia, well, Julia… were the actions of an ordinary woman. She wasn't a goddess. She wasn't even an angel. She was Julia, and she was the woman he had loved once. That was it.

He cringed.

He realized now that he had been using Julia as a shield to block anyone from entering his life and getting too close. He used Julia's memory as a wall to keep anyone from entering his heart. It wasn't because he loved her. He had, once. Long ago. But now it was that she was his defense mechanism and anyone who attacked her was like they were attacking his defenses. Julia allowed him to close up and stay locked up inside himself without having to explain himself to anyone.

It wasn't fair to Julia's memory to be using her this way. And it wasn't fair to Faye, either.

Tomorrow, when Faye had calmed down, he would do what he had meant to do today and failed. He would apologize to her, explain himself, and bring her home.

Things would go back to being normal on the Bebop. Jet would chew their ass out. Ed would still act like a circus seal, and he and Faye would annoy each other. They would happily hunt bounties and bitch about their life, though none of them seemed to want to leave it.

Yes, tomorrow, he would make things better.

* * *

"Ow! Stop it, you jerk" Johanna giggled. Currently, Nemesis had her pinned down to the bed, and he was administering painful spanks to her rear.

"But your ass is so nice" he said with an evil grin. He raised his hand to give her yet another smack, but she twisted her body and rolled away, trying to scramble away from him. She loved it when he was in a playful mood. He spent so much time brooding and planning and being serious…

He grabbed her ankle and pulled her back to him and he pinned her body beneath his by lying on her back. He snaked his hands between her body and the mattress and cupped her breasts.

"Honk honk" he said as he squeezed them. She burst out laughing.

She knew he wasn't all bad. And when he was like this, she loved him more for it. The fact that only she knew this side of him was all the better.

"Nice hooters, ma'am" he said against her neck.

"They are pretty nice, aren't they?" she mumbled against the mattress.

They remained that way for a long time, just breathing each other in.

"Baby?" she said. She knew she was venturing into dangerous water, but she wanted to know.

"Mmm?"

"Tell me more about your past" she said. He sighed heavily and rolled off of her.

"Why?" he said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"Because I want to know. You know everything about me" she said.

"My past is not nice" he said.

"Neither is mine"

He turned his face slightly and looked at her. She thought he was going to refuse, but instead, he asked "What do you want to know?"

Surprised by his answer, she was caught off guard. What _did_ she want to know?

"Why were you hunting down the syndicates?"

"Because they betrayed my father" he said.

"Why? How?"

Nemesis sighed again and lay back against the pillows. She couldn't help but admire his nakedness, even at a time like this.

"Me and my brother were eight years old when we were sent off to a private boarding school" Nemesis began. Jo crawled her way up to him and placed her head on his chest and listened. "I don't know how bad things were at home during that time. All I knew was that we were rich and that our father owned a business. When we were fourteen, we came back home for good because mother had run away with another man. Jiang Yenrai"

"The head of the Red Dragon" Johanna whispered. Nemesis nodded.

"Some time later, our father brought her back and it sparked a war between the syndicate and our family that eventually left our family broke. And then Jiang came for her"

"For your mother?"

"Yeah. But our father killed her. And Jiang killed him"

They stayed quiet for a moment.

"I killed them all" he continued. "Not nice, see?"

"You were still after the syndicates when you found me" Johanna said.

"Yeah"

"What happened to your brother? Why wasn't he with you?"

"After our parents died he ran off to the war on Titan. I lost contact with him for a long time" Nemesis explained.

"How did he enlist? Weren't you guys still underage?" Johanna asked.

Nemesis shrugged. "He found a way. I found him a couple of years later and I convinced him to help me with my revenge. Then I found you"

"What was your plan?"

"To bring down the Red Dragon for good"

"And I ruined your plan…" Johanna said quietly.

"A minor dent" Nemesis said.

"I'm sorry"

"It's done. In the past… Vicious managed to do it in the end anyway" Nemesis said.

"Then why are we still living this life?" she asked.

"It's the only life I know" Nemesis replied. He disengaged himself from her. He turned on his side, giving her his back before turning off the lamp, plunging them into darkness.

* * *

"It's up and running!" Doohan said proudly, patting the zip craft. The name Harlequin was emblazoned on the side. "I woke up at the crack of dawn to get'er done" he said to Ramesses.

"I owe you one, Doohan" he said, shaking the man's hand.

"Don't mention it. Take care of her, that's good enough for me. As for the Red Tail… that one will have to stay with me for another day or so" he said, looking apologetically at Faye.

She groaned inwardly.

"Guess that means you're riding with me for a day" Ramesses said.

"Yeah, I guess so" she replied.

Miles came in, balancing his radio on his shoulder. A familiar voice was speaking.

"So you said they are in Tijuana, Punch?"

"That's right, Judy. And remember, these guys are worth ten million woolongs, and they have to be alive in order for you to get your reward, cowboys!" Punch said.

The show ended and Faye sighed.

"Did you catch their names, Miles?" Ramesses asked the young man.

"Huh? Oh, for the bounty? Yeah, Bunny and Hyde. They are bank robbers that apparently were last seen in TJ" Miles answered.

Ramesses looked at Faye. "What do you think? Ready to go to work?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I guess so" she answered, stretching her arms over her head.

"Let's get to it then" Ramesses said, opening the cockpit to the Harlequin. Faye was about to climb inside, when she noticed Spike coming in. She froze.

"Yo" he said to everyone. His mismatched eyes zeroed in on her and narrowed. "Faye, do you have a minute?" he asked.

Faye was still hurt and angry. She didn't want to see him. "Can't Spiegel. I'm going to work" she said coolly.

"Work?" he asked.

"Yeah… I have work to do" she snapped as she climbed inside. Ramesses climbed in after her.

"Do you want me to wait for you? Because I don't mind" he said lowly, so only she could hear.

"No! Let's get out of here now" she hissed.

"As you wish" he said, and started the Harlequin.

"Faye" Spike called out. She ignored him. Ramesses gave him an "I'm sorry" look and shrugged.

Without another word, the cockpit was closed and seconds later, the Harlequin was zooming out of Doohan's shop.

* * *

**Spike:** Sometimes, the best revenge is indifference.

**Jet:** Next chapter… _**Don't Bother None**_


	26. Session 48: Don't Bother None

**A/N: **_Hi guys! So sorry for the long wait! This weekend was so hectic for me, and I finally started school again. I promise as soon as I get settled into my new schedule, I'll start updating regularly as I've done. I hope you enjoy this chapter, thank you for waiting patiently, and thank you for continuing to read my fic! You guys rock!_

* * *

A half-smoked cigarette dangled between his lips. He was wearing his dirty, white t-shirt and what he liked to call his "lazy pants." He was washing the Swordfish. He had returned to the Bebop the day before, without Faye. Jet had not been pleased, but he hadn't given him a hard time either. Apparently, she had contacted him and explained she wasn't coming back yet.

Spike took a long drag from his smoke and exhaled deeply.

He wouldn't go after her again. He wouldn't bother her. He knew they had both fucked up, and really… why was he going after her in the first place? The woman was crazy; unstable, even. He didn't love her. And he knew she didn't love him either. It was mere sexual attraction. He had to admit the chit was good looking. But honestly, other than a roll in the sheets, he didn't much care for her. Not anymore than civil comradery. He helped her, she helped him. That was all. Partners, comrades, ship mates. Nothing more.

The sex had been great. And whatever he had felt with her in that moment was nothing more than a sudden lapse of sanity on his part. He had momentarily lost his mind and only _thought_ he had felt something more. He _didn't_.

Faye wasn't even his type.

She was loud and obnoxious and spoiled and sassy. He liked his women quiet. Crushing the cigarette on the nearby ashtray, Spike crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, leaning against the metal wall of the Bebop's repair room.

Who cared if she had run off with that bastard? She was a big girl. She could take care of herself.

And what the hell was he doing worrying about her anyway? He didn't care. He had never cared and he would never care. If he was doomed to stay alone forever, so be it. He could live like that. He _had_ lived like that for many years, hadn't he?

"You alright there, Spike?"

It was Jet.

"Peachy" Spike answered.

"Since Faye isn't coming back any time soon, I thought it would be a good idea to go catch us some money. Big Shot just announced a head for 25 million here on Ganymede. What do you say? We could use with more food and stuff around here and it wouldn't cost us any fuel" Jet said.

Edward had climbed up behind him and was clinging to him like a spider monkey.

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan. What's he wanted for?" Spike asked.

"She, actually. They call her Black Widow. Lures men into her web and kills the poor sons of bitches after she steals their money. She goes for the loaded guys, too, not just any old horn-dog in a bar"

"What's a horn-dog corn-dog?" Ed asked innocently.

Jet cleared his throat and Spike snorted.

"Never mind that, Ed. What do you say, Spike?"

Spike nodded. "Sounds interesting. What's the plan?" Anything to get off the Bebop and clear his mind.

"Well, we first have to figure out her next target. She goes for older gentlemen. The top dogs here on Ganymede are Dimitri Anderson, Carl Johnson and Esteban Amador. Out of the three, the biggest fish is Anderson. Bob reckons that's her next target, but we should keep an eye out on the other two as well" Jet explained. He turned to Ed who was dangling from his neck, her skinny arms almost choking him. "Can you find out some information about the families, Ed? Anything at all. I want to know as much as possible before we go in"

"Aye aye, Capitan Jet-person! Edward is on it!" Edward chirped in his ear before jumping off his back and scrambling away to fetch her Tomato.

Jet grumbled, scratching the inside of his ear with his pinky.

"What's the girl's name?" Spike asked.

"Natalya Zadornov. She may be using an alias though" Jet replied.

"Do we have a picture of her?"

"Yeah, but an old one. She's changed her appearance so much, who knows what she looks like now."

Spike rubbed his face with his hands and sighed.

* * *

Faye sat across the bar from Ramesses. They were going after Bunny and Hyde, a pair of bank robbers who also happened to be lovers. They had proved elusive thus far, however, and now she was here, with Ramesses, waiting.

Faye had to admit the Tijuana was even worse than Earth. This truly was the place where the low-lives congregated. The place was swarming with small-fry bounties and plain old scum of the universe. She guessed the only place worse than this had to be Callisto.

Ramesses had been real good to her though. He had gotten them a seedy little room in a rundown motel and he had allowed her to sleep on the bed while he slept on the floor. He had even been buying her meals for her. Not that she was broke or anything, he was just a good guy. She missed her Red Tail, but it was still back on Earth, even though Doohan had called in to say it was ready. They would go pick it up as soon as they landed this bounty which was good… she had to pay Doohan somehow.

Ramesses also _knew_ things. He was well aware of where everything was around here… what people to talk to, where to find the information he needed. She supposed he had, what with his line of work and all. She was impressed, she had to admit. It was thanks to him that they had gotten a tip off of one of the scumbags here in TJ as to where Bunny and Hyde were going to be stopping for the night.

So here they were, in this gloomy little bar that reeked of booze, piss and cigarettes. Faye had battled the urge to gag the moment she had stepped inside. She had also grown bored with the way the men were leering at her. And this was with her wearing decent clothing that covered her up from head to toe (dark-blue jeans, a pink blazer over her white tank-top, and a pair of super cute high heels that matched the blazer… she had to admit she looked hot)… she could only imagine what the reaction would have been if she had been wearing her old yellow getup.

It was getting late now, and she wondered if maybe Ramesses had been fooled. Maybe the rat had given them fake info. They had been in this forsaken bar for over an hour already. She was about to get up and go talk to Ramesses to tell him as much when the door to the bar opened.

Bingo.

In came a man and a woman, looking like beggars. Faye caught Ramesses's eye and he nodded slightly. Calling the lone bartender over to her side of the counter, Faye ordered another beer. She watched from the corner of her eye as Ramesses moved close to the door, effectively blocking the bounty's only potential escape route.

Without a second thought, Faye pulled out her Glock and shot a bullet into the air. There was startled yelling and the loud bustle of chairs being pushed back as the men tried to take cover.

"Everybody get down!" she yelled amidst the chaos. She had her gun pointed directly at Hyde. He was glaring at her but didn't move. Bunny was hiding behind him.

"Bounty hunters" he said, looking right at her. Quick as lighting, he pulled out his gun and Faye flinched when she heard the gunshot, ready to feel a sharp, intense pain somewhere on her body that never came. She thought he had aimed at her, but she was unharmed. Instead, he had aimed at the grubby light bulb and the bar was plunged into darkness.

There was more chaos. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear the chairs being pushed and tables probably being overturned. She heard men struggling, but it was impossible to know who.

Then she received a blow to the face that made her feel like her left I was about to pop.

"Stupid bitch… did you think you could take us on so easy?"

It was Bunny. In that moment, the bartender had cracked open a… flare? It had to be. The room was bathed in bright, red light. Taking her chance, Faye elbowed Bunny in the face, effectively busting her lip open.

Bunny lunged at her and grabbed her hair, making Faye shriek in pain and anger. Faye clawed at the woman's face and they began an epic catfight the likes which Faye had never experienced before. Usually she was fighting men.

She could hear Ramesses somewhere in the bar, but she had no idea what he was doing, as Bunny was doing a good job of pulling on her hair, making her unable to move her head much.

She heard a gunshot, then a second one. She'd had enough. She'd be damned if this Bunny bitch got the best of her. Faye sunk her nails into the girl's neck, making her yelp. The next moment, Faye kneed her belly, making her double over. Still seething with anger, Faye backhanded her so hard she made her topple over.

"Enough"

Ramesses had Hyde on his knees, his hands cuffed, a gun pointed at the back of his head.

"No! Don't kill him! Please!" Bunny pleaded, crawling her way over to Hyde.

"Don't move" Faye said, aiming her Glock at Bunny. "You two are pathetic. You give the names Bonny and Clyde a bad rep."

It wasn't long until the police arrived to haul the robbers away.

"Nice job" Ramesses said as they watched the robbers being put under arrest.

"I've been better" Faye muttered, rubbing her cheekbone. "I wasn't feeling myself"

"You alright? Are you feeling unwell?" he asked.

Faye shook her head. No, she wasn't feeling unwell. Not physically. No, this ran deeper than that.

When the cop handed over her EMC with the bounty on it, Ramesses smiled.

"Well, this is nice. I just caught my first bounty" he said.

"Really?"

He nodded. "I deal in different work, remember?"

"Well, give me your card so we can split this" she said.

"No, it's alright. I don't need it. You keep it. You deserve it" he said.

"What? Why?" she asked, surprised.

He shrugged. "I figured you could use it more than me. Don't worry about it, I won't starve to death. It's your turn to buy the meals" he grinned.

Faye chuckled. "Alright. If you're sure…"

"I'm sure, pretty lady"

Later that night, as she lay in bed, she suppressed the urge to cry. She missed her Beboppers. She missed Ed's constant laughter, Jet's grumpiness, and… yes, she missed Spike too. It just didn't feel right to be away from the Bebop anymore. It was her home. She had figured this out a long time ago. She hadn't run away in a long, long time. She had… new roots. She was a plant, the Bebop was her earth, and the Bebopers were the sun and water that made her grow. Even the stupid lunkhead.

And while Ramesses was great (ok, more than great, he was amazing... kind, gentle, intelligent _and_ sexy) she just couldn't get the bounty hunters out of her head.

Maybe it was time to head back after all.

* * *

Edward tilted her head to the side. Jet and Spike were sitting behind her, both had their legs crossed like pretzels and were looking intently over her shoulder at the information she had pulled up.

"That's the Nathan-friend" she said.

"Huh?" Spike asked.

"The Nathan-friend… that's him!" Ed said, pointing at the small picture on the screen of the Tomato.

"Oh, your boyfriend?" he asked. Ed blushed.

"He's not the boyfriend! He's the Nathan-friend, Spikey-Spike!" she giggled.

"But what's he doing there?" Jet asked.

"He's Dimitri Anderson's son!" Ed explained.

"You have a loaded boyfriend, Ed? Must be nice. Marry him and get us out of this poverty" Spike said lazily, leaning back on his long arms.

"Spike-person!" Ed giggled.

"Never mind all that. Maybe you could contact Nathan, Ed and stay close to him. Don't tell him we're hunting Natalya. Don't say anything in case he lets anything slip. We don't want this job ruined. If you see anything, let us know" Jet said, rubbing his chin.

"How is Ed supposed to do that?" the hacker asked.

"Ask him to take you home" Spike said.

"Now, now, don't go getting _too_ close" Jet said, clearing his throat. "Just see if you can get him to invite you home for dinner or something. Try and get as close to his family as possible, ok?"

Ed nodded. "Leave it to Edward!" she said happily.

"Good. We'll get started first thing tomorrow morning then" Jet said. "Too bad Faye's not here… she'd have fun helping Ed, plus she's missing out on some good money"

Spike shrugged. "Who cares" he said.

But Jet knew. Jet knew that his friend cared a lot more than he let on.


	27. Session 49: Between Worlds

**A/N: **_Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait! I bring you the latest chapter and I hope you all like it!_

* * *

"This is fucking ridiculous" Jo said, skimming through the holographic newspaper. "Have you seen the bounty on your head?" she asked Nemesis who was getting dressed.

"How much?" he asked.

"900 million" Jo scoffed. "That's more than the chief of the ISSP is worth. Who would offer to pay that much for you?"

"Leaders of the syndicates. Probably pitched in to see me caught again" Nemesis said dismissively.

"Ridiculous" Jo repeated. "You would think you were some sort of monster, with the amount of woolongs they are willing to pay" Jo said.

"Aren't I?"

"No"

Nemesis turned to look at her as he buttoned up his shirt.

"Maybe you don't notice because you're a monster too" he said.

"Am not. I am merely a product of my circumstances" Jo said lazily, stretching her arms over her head. "Do we really have to go meet them today?"

"You know we do. We need the money. We need to build connections with the right people" Nemesis said as he sat on the corner of the bed.

"Can't we do something else? Nemesis… I don't want to continue this life anymore" Johanna said, crawling her way to him and wrapping her arms around him from behind.

"And what would you have us do, Jo? Open up a business? Become bounty hunters? You just saw the ridiculous price on my head. There's nothing more we _can_ do. We are meant to be in this life" he said.

"No. We could pull some strings… change our names, change our face—"

"And for us to do that, we need money. Where do you suggest we get it?" Nemesis said irritably.

Standing up abruptly, he began to pace the room. "Leave, Johanna."

Jo blinked, sure she had misheard him.

"What did you say?" she whispered.

"Leave. If this life is too much for you… if you can't handle it anymore, then just leave. I won't keep you here. You're free. Leave."

Jo scrambled out of bed and went to stand before him. He was taller than her, her head barely reaching his shoulder. He was much bigger and stronger than her. He could break her in two if he so wished. But she didn't care.

She slapped him. He looked down at her, motionless.

"Say that to me one more time" she hissed. He remained silent. "How dare you. After all we've been through. How dare you even suggest that I could walk away" she seethed. "You know damn well I will never leave you. You know I would fucking die for you!"

"Then stop questioning me all the fucking time" he said. "Do you think I want to live life running away? Do you think I want to drag you with me down this path that can only end in death? I love you Jo, and that's why, if you want to go, then go. Otherwise shut the fuck up and follow me." He reached out a hand towards her and brushed her tear away with his thumb before taking her into his arms.

"I just want to live… with you" she said in a muffled voice against his chest as she let her tears flow.

"I know. I want to live with you too. And we will. But not yet" he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Then let's get ready to meet the Mafiya and get shit over with" she sniffled.

"Jo?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop your fucking crying. You know I don't know how to handle that shit" Nemesis said, turning away from her. She smiled and wiped her tears away.

"You're just scared" she whispered.

"Of what? You're crying?"

"Yeah. You're scared of showing any vulnerability" she said.

Nemesis grunted and didn't respond.

* * *

It had been over a week now. It had been a week since she had last seen Spike on Earth at Doohan's. She missed the Bebop, yet she felt oddly connected to Ramesses, too. They had caught three bounties so far. Working with him was so easy. He was great. He was a professional. He had taught her a few tricks here and there. But he was not Spike. He was not Jet. He was not Ed or Ein. And even though she liked working with him, even though they worked so well as team, she couldn't help but miss the old crew.

Sure, she and Ramesses never bickered. They never argued about petty shit. There was no nagging, no fighting over woolongs… none of that. But she had to admit that it was precisely _that_ that she missed the most. She missed teasing and bickering with Spike. She missed Jet's constant nagging about the hot water. She missed Ed and her craziness. And even the mutt. She missed her home.

"You seem awful quiet" Ramesses said from across the small table. They were staying at his apartment for now. The bounties were slow coming, so they had been bumming around for the better part of two days.

"I guess so" she said, pushing the food around in her plate. This man was a good cook. For fucks sake, was there something he wasn't good at? Too bad he was a murderer for hire. He would have made a damn fine husband for some woman.

"Miss your friends?" he asked.

Faye nodded. "Actually about that. I think I'm gonna head home now. I'm about over my tantrum with Spike and I'm sure they are dying without me" she said, smiling.

Ramesses grinned. "Of course. Who wouldn't? You're a lovely woman, Faye. And kindhearted, too" he said.

"How do you know? You've only known me a week" Faye said, feeling herself blush.

"Because I know people. I have to, in my line of work" he replied, shoving rice into his mouth.

"Well, never mind that. I'll help you clean up and then I'll be on my way" she said, getting to her feet.

"Don't worry about it, I got it. There's not much mess two people can make" he said.

Faye smiled ruefully. Jet would certainly disagree with that. "Well, if you're sure, then I guess I better get going" she said, getting to her feet. "Thanks for everything, Ramesses. You're a real swell guy."

Ramesses got to his feet and smiled. "You're good company, Faye. I hope it's not the last time we see each other" he said.

"Doubt it. We're always travelling back and forth, we might meet up again sooner or later" she said. She walked to the room where her meager belongings were, threw them all pell-mell into the black back pack she had acquired during her stay and swung it over her shoulder after zipping it. Well, it was time to head home.

She stopped at the door and looked back at Ramesses who was looking at her, his arms crossed over his chest. He nodded.

"See you around, pretty fairy" he said. Faye smiled.

"Thank you for everything. See you around" she said. And with that, she was out the door.

It wasn't hard to locate the Bebop. She called Edward and she let Faye know they were still docked in Ganymede. That seemed odd to Faye; Jet never liked staying in one place too long. Still, she was glad they weren't that far away. If she used the Astral Gate just outside of Mars, it would connect to Ganymede in a matter of hours. Six, tops.

Faye couldn't help but admire the intelligence and imagination of their ancestors as she set the Red Tail in motion. Never did she even dream that one day she would be flying through space, catching criminals. It was a good thing she was quick to adapt to her surroundings; otherwise she would have probably gone insane by now. She set the zip craft into autopilot and pushed her seat back so she could better lay down for a nap. She blindly felt around the side of her seat for the instant food package she always carried with her in case of an emergency and popped it open. She had just had lunch with Ramesses, but still… the cookies included in these packets were delicious.

By her calculations, she should be on Ganymede by late evening.

* * *

"Ed, I have something for you" Jet said, coming in through the circular door to the Bebop.

"Something for Ed?! What is it?!" the red-haired girl squealed, jumping on the yellow chair.

"Well, seeing as you're going to be helping us properly with this job… and because it seems like things can get ugly if something goes wrong… I got you a gun" Jet said.

Spike, who was sprawled along the yellow couch, opened one eye to peer at Jet who had a black box under his right arm.

"A gun for Edward!" Ed said happily, clasping her hands together in anticipation. "Let me see it Jet-person!"

"Calm down, Ed… I won't let you touch it unless you calm yourself and can prove to me that you are old enough and mature enough to carry a weapon" Jet said firmly.

"I'm oldy! I can do it! Edward can shoot guns!" Ed said.

"Calm down, and take a look" Jet said, placing the black box on the metal table in the center of the lounge. "I had it custom made, just for you" he said proudly.

Spike smiled to himself. He knew that Jet would have made a great parent. He watched as Ed slowly climbed off the ugly old chair and crawled her way to the center table, her amber eyes as round as saucers. She watched attentively as Jet input the combination to the box and it popped open.

"See? It's a Ruger LC9 which will fit in your hand nicely. It's lightweight, so it won't be too difficult for you to handle… and it's—"

"Pink!" Ed squealed. "And it says Ed on the side, too!"

"Yeah… I thought you might like that" Jet said, taking the small gun out of the box. "Here, take it. It's not loaded or anything right now, but just hold it in your hand to see how it fits."

Spike swung his long legs over the couch and wiped his face with his hand. This was going to be interesting. He wondered who would be the one tasked with teaching the trained seal how to shoot.

"Spike will be helping you learn how to properly use a gun" Jet said as though he had read Spike's mind.

"What?! No way" Spike said, falling back against the couch, hands locked behind his head.

"Oh yes you are. You and I will both be teaching her how to properly handle a weapon. We'll take turns. She will benefit a lot from two people who use guns in their own way" Jet said firmly. The way he spoke gave no room for Spike to argue, so he sighed instead. Of course he would be the one teaching the crazy kid how to shoot…

If Faye was here, she could have done it. She just loved kids…

Spike chuckled. That was a funny thought. Faye… with children? She would sooner cut off her leg.

"What are you laughing at, Spike? I'm serious" Jet said, assuming the lanky mad was laughing at his statement.

Spike shook his head. "Yeah, alright. I'll teach her" he said.

It might be fun. And he had to agree Ed was getting old enough to defend herself. If anything was to happen to them on a mission, Ed couldn't be left defenseless. How would she survive? Never mind that she had survived just fine on her own way before they even met her. And why was e worrying about the damned kid anyway. It wasn't his problem.

Except it _was_ his problem. He liked the kid. He wouldn't want anything to happen to her. She had grown on him.

"Hooray for the Spike-person!" Ed said, waving her hands in the air.

"Ok, Ed, settle down and be serious. If you can't be serious about this, you're not getting this gun" Jet said.

"When can Edward practice?!" she asked excitedly.

"Well… it's a little late now…" Jet began, rubbing his bald head.

"Oh" Ed pouted. She looked so crestfallen, Spike felt sorry for her.

"We can practice for a bit now. The sun is still shinning" Spike said.

"Hardly. Half an hour more and Ganymede will be dark" Jet said.

"Maybe just the basics, then" Spike suggested.

Ed was looking between the two men with a hopeful expression on her young face.

"Fine. But no bullets today. No bullets until she knows how to properly handle the gun" Jet complied in the end.

"Hoo-hoo- ray!" Ed cheered, startling Ein who had been sleeping beside the yellow chair.

Just then, the Bebop's main communicator began to beep. Jet got to his feet with a sigh and walked over to the panel to answer the incoming call.

The screen lit up and he was surprised by the face at the other end.

"Faye?" he asked. He wasn't expecting to hear from her for another week, at least.

At the mention of her name, Edward squealed and ran towards Jet. "Faye-Faye! We miss you!" she said happily, looking over Jet's shoulder.

"Hey Ed. Hey Jet" Faye said through the screen. "I… have a problem" she said. She braced herself for Jet's nagging which was sure to follow.

Sure enough, he began to berate her. "I should have known you wouldn't call just to see how we're doing. No, you only call when you need something. When you're in trouble. Always needing something or other" Jet began.

Faye pursed her lips and rolled her eyes as Jet kept going off in the background.

"Are you done?" she asked.

"What do you want now" Jet said, resigning himself to having to bail the woman out of whatever predicament she currently found herself in.

"I kind of set out for the Bebop… without refueling before I left. I need a hand…" she explained, lighting a cigarette.

Jet grumbled. "Fine. Where are you?" he asked roughly.

"I'll send you my coords in a minute. Listen… I'm coming home" she said with half a smile.

Jet smiled to himself. So Poker Alice missed them. How nice.

"Good. Send me your coords and me I'll go get you" he said.

Through the whole transaction, Spike had remained silent. Silent but alert to everything that was being said.

So Faye was coming back. The little jolt he felt in his chest was nothing more than annoyance, he was sure of it. Still… the fact that that crazy woman was coming back was good. It was a good thing.

It had nothing to do with him. He just wanted her to help teach Edward. Really, it was lucky she had decided to come back now. It wasn't like he missed her or anything…

* * *

**Faye: **_It's always easy to find your way when your heart is the one that guides you._

**Jet: **_Back to the mushy stuff, huh?_

**Faye:** _It's not mushy, it's philosophical!_

**Spike: **_Sounds like bullshit to me..._

**Edward: **_Next chapter... **Remember to Breathe**!_

* * *

**A/N: **_Guys, I have a question for you all... _

_Do you want to see more Nemesis/Johanna? I was thinking of having them appear in more chapters if you guys wanted. Also... I think I'm kind of veering off of what I had originally planned for those two lol. I'm not sure yet how things will end up, but I'm sure I'll think of something lol. _

_Let me know your thoughts and comments! _


	28. Session 50: Remember to Breathe

**A/N: **_Hello my readers! First and foremost, I want to apologize for the long gap between last chapter and this update! I've been going through some turbulent waters, both in my personal life (don't ask lol) and my academic journey (meaning I'm swamped in homework lol). I realize this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I had to upload it anyway, I felt that if I waited any longer, I would probably never finish it or upload it and my writer's block would never disappear. I have a few days off starting tomorrow, so it is my intention to have another update for you this weekend._

_I do hope you enjoy this chapter! _

* * *

"It feels so good to be home" Faye yawned, stretching her long legs along the yellow couch. "I missed this old ship"

"We missed you too, Faye-Faye!" Edward said happily, rubbing her cheek along Faye's leg.

"It really was quiet without you" Jet said, lighting a cigarette.

"Peaceful, more like" Spike muttered.

The moment she had walked in through the door, she and the fuzzy-haired jerk had locked eyes. It was brief… no more than a few seconds. But in that instant, they knew all was forgotten. Their argument seemed like it had happened a hundred years ago and it was petty.

Yes, they had said some awful things, but they were grown people and it just wasn't in Faye's nature to keep a grudge for long. If she had forgiven Whitney, that piece of shit, why couldn't she forgive Spike too?

She had walked in and they had just sort of nodded at each other and that was that. Things had fallen into place as if nothing had happened.

Even though Faye knew a lot had happened… too much, actually.

But she wouldn't let that get in the way. She would live life and forget the past because really, the past never held anything good for her. It never had. Except… for the one night she had shared with that lunkhead. She had experienced something lovely with Spike then; but it was no good thinking about that now because it would never happen again. If she dwelled on it, she would probably shoot him like she should have done on the day he had left.

And Spike seemed to understand too. Why wouldn't he? He, more than anyone on the Bebop, understood now that living in the past was not a good thing. It messed up your head if you let it.

So they had nodded at each other without saying anything because they understood each other.

"You know, we are actually going to start teaching Ed how to use a gun" Jet said after a moment of comfortable silence.

"Is that right? When did you decide to let her, papa bear?" Faye teased.

"Don't call me that. I got her the gun today" Jet grumbled.

"Spikey-Spike is going to show Ed!" the hacker piped up.

"Spike? Why would you let _him_ teach her?" Faye asked, sitting up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the lanky man asked, lighting a cigarette of his own.

"Well, _you_ can teach her then" Jet said before Faye could answer his buddy.

"No way! I'll chip a nail or something" Faye said.

"Your nails be damned. Ed needs the three of us to help her" Jet said.

"Fine, whatever. You better pay me" Faye said with a smirk.

"Like hell I will! Wasn't it you who got the idea in her head anyway?!" Jet roared.

"_Me_?" Faye asked innocently, "I would never! That would be irresponsible"

"I can't believe I actually missed you" Jet said, crushing his cigarette on the ashtray.

"Aw. I missed you too" Faye said, wrinkling her nose. "But right now, I'm tired. I'm hungry. I stink. I need a shower, some food and definitely sleep" she said, getting to her feet.

"Well, dinner is still in the oven so you have time to shower. You're stinking up the Bebop" Jet said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah right! I'm not _that_ stinky… am I?" Faye said, lifting her arm and smelling her armpit. Edward giggled.

"I have to agree with Jet here. Pretty smelly" Spike said with a lazy smile.

"Told ya" Jet said as he made his way into the kitchen to check on dinner. Ed was clinging to him like a monkey.

"Whatever. _You_ guys smell, I don't" she said. She took her high heels off and stretched her arms over her head before making her way down the metal hallway.

"Hey, Faye?" Spike called out.

Faye's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah?" she called back.

"I'm glad you're back" he said.

She smiled to herself.

"I'm glad to be back."

* * *

"Nemesis… you're tough. But that's to be expected from the son of the Black Mamba" Viktor said, rubbing his bushy, blond beard. He had a thick, Russian accent.

"Do we have a deal?" Nemesis asked.

The room was dimly lit and smoky. He felt on edge; he didn't like being here. He was ready to pounce at any second. His hand was resting casually over his hidden gun, ready to kill if need be.

The Mafiya were not men to be trifled with. The most ruthless syndicate since before the Red Dragon… and one of the few that had not betrayed his father.

He didn't like dealing with them, but it was necessary if he wanted to build himself an empire like the Black Mamba had.

"Yes, we have a deal. Bring me the merchandise and you will get your money" Viktor said. He motioned for one of his men to step forward and said something in Russian. The man nodded and left the room. He came back a minute later with a bottle of whiskey in his hand and a couple of glasses. He poured them a drink.

"Now tell me, how did you manage to destroy the Red Dragon if you were in prison?" Viktor asked, taking a drink.

Nemesis took a sip. "I didn't. My brother did" he replied coldly.

"Ah, that is correct. I forget you have a brother" Viktor said. "Or _had_, I should say. I remember now. He was murdered, was he not?"

Nemesis nodded curtly.

"And did you find his murderer? It was quite the story, you know" Viktor continued.

"I don't know the details. I was in Adonis" Nemesis said testily.

"They say it was one man. A single man slayed the Dragon, but it wasn't your brother" Viktor said, smiling widely. "The man came in, swift as a shadow, taking down the syndicate and leaving nothing in his wake. He killed everyone… like he was the angel of death. He offed your brother too. What was his name? Spiegel. Spike Spiegel. He would have been a great member of the Mafiya. Too bad he wasn't Russian" the man said, gently swishing his drink in his glass.

"Ah, yes. Spike Spiegel. Manolo mentioned him" Nemesis said. "I heard he disappeared"

"No, he died. Spike Spiegel died in the face off with your brother" Viktor said. "One of my men was working inside the Red Dragons and confirmed"

Nemesis raised his eyebrows. He had many questions, but held his tongue.

"Then he is no longer a rock in my shoe" he said instead. Viktor laughed.

"I like you. You're just like your father" he said.

Just then, a woman sashayed her way into the room. She was stunningly beautiful. She had piercing blue eyes and golden blond hair that reached a little past her shoulders, falling in soft waves around her face. She wore six inch, black stilettos, dark grey jeans that hugged her hips and legs tightly, a leather blazer and atop her head, a grey fur ushanka. She swept her icy blue eyes over Nemesis, locking with his cold, steel grey ones for a moment. She smiled seductively before she made her way to Viktor, sitting on his lap.

"Viktor, lyubov moya, I'm tired. When are you finishing here?" she said with a perfect pout. Viktor grabbed her perfectly round ass in one beefy hand and squeezed.

"Kotyonok, I am almost finished here. Wait for me in the car and I will meet you there in a minute" he said.

She pouted again and whimpered. "But hurry up. Your kotik is getting restless out there all alone" she purred before kissing him. He spanked her as she walked away again. Turning to Nemesis, he grinned.

"Women. Can't live with them, can't live without them. She's going to be the death of me one day" Viktor laughed. "And you? I see you brought a long a fine piece of ass too. I saw your little zaichik waiting outside. She could almost give my Natalya competition for most beautiful" the man guffawed.

Nemesis remained silent. He didn't like this man referring to _his _Johanna with no fucking Russian pet names. It made him want to slice his belly open.

"As you can see, I am a wanted man, Nemesis. My malysh waits for me outside. I will have one of my men contact one of yours when we are ready to make the transaction. Good evening" Viktor said. Nemesis nodded and got to his feet, placing the glass on the old table.

He was glad to be out of that shit hole. In the distance, he saw Natalya flirting with the driver and wondered how long the poor son of a bitch would live if Viktor caught him.

"Why are you staring at her?" Jo said from behind him suddenly.

"I'm not" Nemesis said, lighting a cigarette.

"You better not be. I'll kill her" Jo said, fuming.

"Can't. She's Viktor's girl. Can't go killing his woman or else we won't get the deal" he said with a grin.

"I don't give a fuck" Jo said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I wasn't staring. She's got nothing on you anyway" Nemesis said, draping an arm over her shoulders. "Let's get out of here. Looks like a storm is coming" he said.

"It's always shitty here in Callisto" Jo said. "We need to find a better motel. Our room is too cold"

"Yeah, alright. But I'm sure we can think of a way to keep warm" Nemesis said as they reached their zip craft.

* * *

"Jet-person… are you awake?" Ed asked quietly.

She was in the lounge area, and it was mostly dark and quiet on the Bebop. It was the middle of the night, and she and Ein were the only ones awake, it seemed. Spike person was sleeping on the yellow couch, snoring ever so gently. Faye-Faye had retired to her room after wolfing down three servings of food during dinner hours ago. Jet was sitting on the yellow seat, but his head was hanging over his chest.

"Jet-person?"

Jet grunted in response.

"The Nathan-friend invited me over for dinner tomorrow" she said, trying to suppress her excitement.

"He did? Where?" Jet on full alert, rubbing his face with his large hands.

"Yuppers… and I don't know, he didn't say-say" she told the big man.

"Well, it's a start. Find out where you will be going, Ed. And make sure it's not too late. I want you home by ten. And you're not leaving without first practicing some with your gun, ok?" Jet said, getting to his feet.

Edward giggled. "Okay, mister captain sir!" she said.

"I'm going to my room now. Good night Ed. Don't stay up too late" he said, walking away.

"Night-night, Jet-person" Ed whispered. She scooped Ein in her arms and stared at Spike for a moment. "Good night Spike-person" she said before skipping her way to her own room.

She would be seeing the Nathan friend again tomorrow. That made her happy. She flopped down on the bed and stared at his picture on the wall.

Yes, she liked the Nathan friend. She hoped the mean-woman didn't hurt him or his family.

* * *

**A/N: **_So there! It appears that shit is about to go down soon... but I won't say anymore about that!_

_I used some Russian words, and if there are any Russian-speakers among my readers, I apologize if I butchered your language! The words are just pet names like "bunny, kitten, kitty" and "my love" so I hope I didn't do _too_ bad lol!_

_Tell me your thoughts, your comments, your opinions... correct my Russian if I'm wrong! _

_See you soon! xoxo_


	29. Omake

_I thought I would take time out for a chapter from the actual story and bring forth the Omake I kept mentioning in previous chapters. It's nothing big, and it's nothing special, but I think it would help make sense of this mess I made in my fic lol. _

_I'd also like to address some questions I have received in my Reviews and my inbox about Nemesis and his plans and all that good stuff._

* * *

_**This is the outline of the background story of Vicious, his brother Nemesis, and a little bit of Spike Spiegel.**_

**The story of Vicious:**

At age 8 Vicious and Nemesis are sent off to a boarding school on Mars.

At age 14, both are still in school and their Mom runs away with Yenrai.

At age 15, Mom is forced back by the Black Mamba, feud with the syndicate starts. Nemesis and Vicious help dad in what they call the "Syndicate War."

At age 16, their mom and dad die inside their home in an attack by the Red Dragon. Nemesis kills Yenrai and they disappear from the map. Vicious enlists to the war on Titan, lying about his actual age. Stays for 2 years. Loses contact with Nemesis.

At age 18, Nemesis finds Vicious again and convinces him to join the Red Dragon and help bring it down from the inside. Vicious joins the Red Dragon under Mao Yenrai's wing and befriends Spike.

By age 21, he and Spike move up the ladder considerably…

At age 22, Vicious meets Julia. Finds out Nemesis has been sent to prison, continues with the plans anyway.

At age 24, Vicious introduces Julia to Spike and the events happen as seen on Cowboy Bebop flashbacks; he forgets the true purpose of ruining the Red Dragon when he finds out of Spike and Julia's affair and now only wants power and focuses on getting revenge for their betrayal.

At age 27 the events of Cowboy Bebop happen as seen in the anime.

* * *

**Nemesis's side of the coin:**

At age 8 Vicious and Nemesis are sent off to a boarding school on Mars.

At age 14, both are still in school and their Mom runs away with Yenrai.

At age 15, Mom is forced back by the Black Mamba, feud with the syndicate starts. Nemesis and Vicious help dad in what they call the "Syndicate War."

At age 16, their mom and dad die. Nemesis kills Yenrai. He loses contact with Vicious after Vicious enlists in the war on Titan. Nemesis vows revenge against the syndicates and goes on a terrorizing spree, killing members of any syndicate that turned their backs on their dad, the Black Mamba, and killing the families of the Red Dragon members who were involved in the murder of his father.

At age 18, Nemesis finds Vicious and convinces him to join the Red Dragon so they can avenge their family and their honor. The plan is to bring it down from the inside.

At age 20, Nemesis meets Johanna who was used as a sex slave by the Blue Serpent syndicate, and falls in love. Helps her escape.

At age 21, Nemesis and Johanna start killing the members of the Blue Serpent who raped her.

Age 22, Nemesis kills the leaders of the Blue Serpent, gets caught… is sent to prison.

At age 28, Nemesis escapes prison with the help of Johanna.

* * *

**Spike Spiegel:**

At around age 16 Spike loses his parents and Mao takes him in.

At age 18 he becomes an official Syndicate member and befriends Vicious...

By age 21 both he and Vicious have moved up the ladder and became top members of the Red Dragon

At age 24, Spike meets Julia and their affair starts. Vicious finds out about him and Julia. Spike fakes his death to escape the syndicate.

At age 27 the events of Cowboy Bebop happen as shown in the anime.

* * *

_As you can see, it is a little complicated, but not too bad. As for the events in my fic, they obviously happen after Nemesis escapes. He wants to build an underground empire for himself and Johanna. That's been his intent since I first introduced him, and why he asked Manolo to gather everyone… everyone being anyone who was still loyal to him._

_The plot in my story has wavered a little; to the point where I don't know what I'm going to do with Nemesis and Jo… so I guess you guys will have to wait to find out lol!_

_I want to take the time here to address the Spike and Faye thing. I know a lot of my readers wanted to see some explosive scene when Spike and Faye came face to face again, but I honestly think that it wouldn't have happened in the real Cowboy Bebop. Whenever they were mean or rude to each other, they never actually apologized to each other. Not Jet, not Spike, not Faye. They aren't like that (remember the scene when Faye apologizes to Spike and he's all weirded out? And she only apologized because she was having some sort of breakdown?). I feel that they have this mutual understanding and the fact that they don't hold grudges in the anime made me feel like if I added some dramatic, explosive scene to their encounter, I would ruin my fic. I don't want it to be some sappy soap opera, or some over dramatic… drama lol. After all, I'm not writing some Harlequin Romance here lol. _

_I hope my readers understand. I hope you guys found the Omake a little interesting, and I hope it peaked your interest enough to stick around for the fanfic that will delve deep into that background. I hope I answered a few of your questions, but if you feel you need more answers, please feel free to comment, review or shoot me a PM. _

_I think FF doesn't allow these kinds of chapters (if I remember correctly) so I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it posted… hopefully they don't bitch at me for it!_

_Already working on the next chapter of this fic, so expect another (relevant to the actual fic) update real soon!_


	30. Session 51: Ready, Set, Roll

**A****/N: **_Oh. My. Gosh. It's me... with an update! I'm so sorry! I know I opened my big mouth last time and said I'd have an update for you real soon and I took over a week to update! I do hope I am forgiven! I won't make any more promises as to when I will update again, because I don't want to say a thing and end up doing another. I _am _still working on this fic, so don't think I won't finish it, because I plan to! It's just taking a little longer than anticipated. I hope you enjoy the chapter! _

* * *

The sound reverberated through the room like thunder. Three shots perfectly aimed at the target; courtesy of Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, thank you very much.

She removed the earmuffs from her head and turned to Jet and Spike who were in the dark room with her. She grinned, her rosy cheeks brighter than usual.

"Not bad, Ed" Jet said, giving her two thumbs up. Spike only smiled wryly and lit a cigarette.

"A natural" he said.

"It's because I'm so good at teaching" Faye said coming in through the door. Her arms were laden with plastic bags. "I bring lunch… I'm starving" she said.

"Foooood!" Ed howled with glee.

"About time, too. What, did you stay and cook the food too? You took forever" Jet said, taking the bags from her arms.

"Whatever. Be thankful I even offered to go get it" Faye said, opening one of the bags. She pulled out a box of Chinese take-out food. Faye stared at the box and laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jet asked, passing the rest of the food around.

"Well, it's just funny that these things still exist, you know? None of you probably know China or anything" she said.

"Do too. Just because we left planet earth decades ago doesn't mean we don't study about Earth in school. We have to take Galactic History in high school, you know" the big man said, rummaging in the bags for some chopsticks.

But Faye wasn't paying attention. Her mind had wandered and was just realizing the seriousness of what she'd just said. None of her crewmates knew anything about Earth. She alone knew and remembered Earth as it had been: beautiful. She remembered the vast blue oceans, the green forests, the mountains… not the forsaken land that very few wanted to visit now. It made her sad.

"Yo,Valentine. Snap out of it. Food's gonna get cold" Spike said, narrowing his eyes at her.

She rolled her eyes at him in return and opened her food container. She was thankful he had interrupted her. For a moment, the sudden urge to cry had almost overwhelmed her. Since when had she gotten so emotional?

"I bet it was really something to go to school on Mars, eh?" she asked, trying to clear her mind.

"Yup. But then again, I was almost never in class" Spike said before shoveling food into his mouth.

"Why not? Too cool for school?" Faye teased. Spike shrugged.

"The best schools are on Ganymede anyway" Jet said, puffing out his chest. "I graduated top of my class."

"Yeah… I guess I can see that" Faye said.

"Edward never went to school" Ed said, tilting the box and tapping the bottom of it so that the food would fall into her wide open mouth.

Jet and Faye and Spike exchanged looks. It was as if they had all shared the same thought.

"Edward" Jet said, clearing his throat. "Would you like going to school?" he asked.

"No" she said, taking another container of food.

"Are you sure, kid? It might be good for you to mingle with other girls your age…" Faye said.

"And to learn" Spike added.

"Edward graduated already" Ed said.

"You just said you didn't go to school" Jet pointed out.

"Ed didn't. Françoise Appledelhi did. Edward hacked and enrolled into the University of Mars and graduated" she said simply.

"Of course" Faye said.

"Not sure if crazy or genius" Jet mumbled.

"Both" Spike replied.

"Hold still, Ed!" Faye raged, "I can't control your crazy mane if you keep moving around!"

Edward giggled. "Mane-mane! Hurry up, Faye-Faye! The Nathan friend is almost here!"

"I would have finished an hour ago if you stayed still for a moment!"

The two females on the Bebop were busy getting ready for Edward's date. Faye had been trying to get Ed all dolled up for her date with Nathan, but Ed was so excited it was difficult to get her to sit still for more than a minute at a time. It took over twenty minutes for Faye to get Ed's hair to stay neatly in place.

"There… finally!" the flustered woman said, wiping her brow with the back of her hand. "Well? What do you think?" she asked, peering at the young girl.

Ed was mesmerized. She was looking at her reflection in the mirror, her mouth hanging open. When Gwen had helped her, she had looked innocent and child-like. But today… well, today Edward looked like a young woman. She and Faye had gone shopping for clothes, but instead of buying the pretty dress Ed had wanted, Faye had bought her a pair of black leggings, a white summer dress, a black leather jacket and a pair of brown booties. In addition to that, and with complete disregard for Jet's wallet, she had bought her a huge purse that would fit all of her weapons. Faye had also made Ed's wayward hair very… neat. It wasn't straight like when Gwen had done it. No, Faye had made it neat and had curled the tips and it fell on soft folds around her face.

"Faye-Faye… Ed looks… pretty!" the hacker said, puckering her lips and studying her face in the mirror.

"Well, I do have a special talent for these things" Faye said, her hands on her hips. "Here. This perfume seals the deal"

She tossed a tiny bottle towards Ed, who caught it and immediately spritzed herself with it.

Just then, Jet and Spike came in to the Bebop carrying brown bags in their arms.

"Whoa… is that you, Ed?" Spike asked, doing a double-take when he caught sight of her.

"Yep. It's Edward isn't it Ein?" the young girl said, bending down to pet the sleeping mutt.

"You look all grown up" Jet said.

"Ed feels all grown up" she said with a grin. "But what time is it? I think the Nathan-friend is almost here"

"It's fifteen till six" Jet said, looking at his watch. "Remember Ed, you're there to find out what you can about Nathan's family… especially his father. Try and find out if there's anyone mysterious hanging around. I wish you would have had more time to practice with your gun… but it will have to do. You remember the basics, right? And look," he placed the bags on the metal table, "there's pepper spray here… and knife…. And this taser. Do you have something to keep it all in?"

Ed nodded. "Faye bought me this nifty purse" Ed said, wiggling the giant purse in Jet's face.

"I'm not even going to ask how much money you used up, Faye" he grumbled.

"Good. I ain't sayin'" she said, sniffling.

"You ready for your first big mission, Ed?" Spike asked, plopping down on the yellow couch and lighting a cigarette.

"Ready-freddy" she said happily.

"Here, don't forget your communicator… you have to keep it on you at all times. I will be calling you every half hour or so to make sure everything is alright. And if you feel that you can't handle whatever situation you are in, you call us and we will go find you immediately… ok?" Jet said.

"Yessir" Ed said as she tossed everything into her purse.

"Calm down papa-bear. She's gonna be fine. She already handled a mission on her own, remember? She even managed to get all those mushrooms from that crook" Faye said with a grin.

"This is more dangerous though…" Jet grumbled.

There was someone at the Bebop's door. The Nathan-friend was finally here.

"Well… good luck, Ed" Faye said.

"Be very careful" Jet sighed.

"We have faith in you kid" Spike added.

"Bye-bye!" Ed said as she dashed out the door.

* * *

The beautiful woman sitting across from him was making him lose focus. She was rubbing his leg with her foot, looking at him with her icy blue eyes and licking her ruby lips. This was most inappropriate. They were in public, for goodness's sake! They were having dinner with his wife, his son and his son's lovely young friend. If his wife knew what this woman was doing, he would be dead… and so would she.

"So tell me again… Natasha, was it? Tell me, what exactly are you after?" his wife, Mrs. Anderson, asked acidly. It was very obvious that she didn't trust the woman at all.

"My husband wants to make business with your husband, Mrs. Anderson" Natasha said with a slow smile.

"Yes, you've said that. What kind of business?"

"A hotel chain here on Ganymede" Natasha answered without missing a beat.

"And why isn't your husband here with us?" Mrs. Anderson asked.

"As I told Mr. Anderson earlier, he sends his apologies. He wasn't able to join us tonight as he had planned because an urgent matter came up. He hopes you will join us for dinner tomorrow instead. He wanted me to introduce the general plan to your husband first" Natasha said. Her thick accent was as sexy as the rest of her.

"Well, I'm all ears. It's always good to invest in projects… but only if they have potential. I can't promise you or your husband anything, but I will take a look at what you have in mind" Mr. Anderson said. He swallowed hard when Natasha's foot travelled higher up his leg under the table.

"That is all my husband wants, Mr. Anderson. For you to consider his proposition" the woman said, giving Mr. Anderson a wicked grin.

Mrs. Anderson pursed her lips but was unable to say anything because the waiter arrived with their dinner.

"So tell us, Nathan" Mrs. Anderson said, turning to her son instead, "where did you meet your friend?"

Nathan swallowed hard before answering. "At the library"

"Oh? A well-educated young lady, I hope?" Mrs. Anderson persisted.

"Uh… yeah…" Nathan replied. He wasn't sure how much he should tell his parents about Ed. Him befriending a bounty-hunter? They'd skin him alive. At least his mom would, anyway.

"What school did you go to?" Mrs. Anderson asked Edward.

"Edward graduated from the University of Mars" the hacker said nervously. She was desperately trying to control her verbal tick. Repeating things twice or speaking in sing-song would not be very good form in front of the Nathan-friend's family. His mother was scary.

"Is that right?" Mrs. Anderson asked, raising a perfectly penciled eyebrow.

"Yes" Ed answered uncomfortably.

"You seem a little young to have gone to UoM" Mr. Anderson said pleasantly.

"Ed is a genius" Nathan said. "She's a prodigy." At least this was true.

"Impressive" Mr. Anderson said, cutting into his steak.

"What did you study?" Mrs. Anderson asked.

"Edward studied computer science" Ed said proudly.

"Not something I would let one of my daughters study" the woman sniffed.

"It is quite amusing that you speak in third person, Edward" Natasha said with a smile. "Very amusing"

Ed blushed.

"It's odd. How did you get away with it in school?" Mrs. Anderson asked.

"Nobody cared how Ed speaks because Ed is a genius. Everyone was interested in Ed's work, not her speech" Ed said, getting flustered.

"Leave the poor girl alone, Eloise. Let's eat before our food gets cold" Mr. Anderson said. He winked at Ed and the hacker smiled back, thankful for the break.

* * *

"What a stuck up cow" Faye said. She was using Spike's binoculars, looking at Ed and company having dinner. They could hear what was being said because Ed had turned on her communicator at Jet's request.

"Poor Ed. I feel sorry we sent her" Spike said.

"She's handling it quite well" Faye added.

"Yup. And, to make our job a lot easier, our suspect is having dinner with them" Spike said.

"Uh-huh. And if I'm not mistaken, Mrs. Stuck-up-cow is having her husband seduced right under her nose" Faye giggled.

"What? What do you mean?" Spike asked.

"She's playing footsies with the poor son of a bitch" Faye answered.

"Let me see" Spike asked, his interested piqued.

"Wait, I'm watching"

"Let me see!"

Spike lunged at Faye and snatched the binoculars from her hands.

"Hey, you jerk! I was enjoying that!" she fumed.

"I know… I had to stop you" he said simply.

"Jerk" she mumbled. She grabbed his pack of cigarettes and lit one.

"Damn. Well, can't really blame the man. She's gorgeous" Spike muttered.

Faye rolled her eyes. "She's alright."

"She has nice tits" Spike said.

Faye looked down at her own and shrugged. "Mine are better" she said.

"Yeah" he agreed. Faye's heart skipped a beat. Spike turned to look at her and cringed.

"Sorry" he mumbled.

"Nah, it's alright. I know I have a great pair" she said, trying to play it cool.

But his words had brought back memories of that night…

"Faye? I wanted to say that I'm sorr—"

But Faye cut him off. "No. I don't want to hear it. I don't want you to even mention anything about anything… ever" she said. She took a long drag of her cigarette.

"Ok… but you can't just pretend nothing happened" he said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Spike Spiegel" she said, closing her eyes.

"Alright" Spike said with a shrug.

Women… Damn if he didn't understand them.

* * *

Edward was glad that dinner was over. She didn't like the Nathan-friend's mom all that much. She asked too many questions and she didn't like Ed, Ed was sure of it.

"Nathan… say good bye to your friend and let's go" Mrs. Anderson said.

"Actually, I will head home later mother. Father?" Nathan turned to his dad.

"That's fine. The night is early. But don't get home too late, son, you have an interview tomorrow with Mr. and Mr. Barnes" his father said.

"Very well. I'm heading home already. Good evening Natasha" Mrs. Anderson said coldly to the blond woman.

"Good evening Mrs. Anderson" Natasha said and smiled as she left the table.

"Coming, dear?" Mrs. Anderson asked her husband.

"I'll be home in a bit as well, dear. I need to get some papers from my office" Mr. Anderson said, clearing his throat.

"What for? It's Saturday!" Mrs. Anderson said.

"I know, dear, I know, but I have to finish the contract with Mr. McEllen as soon as possible, you know how he gets" Mr. Anderson explained.

Mrs. Anderson sighed. "Oh alright. Hurry home though, ok?" she said, kissing her husband's cheek. She turned to Nathan and Ed. "And you two better not be home later than ten" and with that, she left the table as well.

"Well, let's get going, Ed" Nathan said with a kind smile. "See you later dad"

"Bye son. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ed" Mr. Anderson said, shaking Ed's small hand.

Nathan pulled Edward away as quickly as he could.

"Sorry about my family. They can be real snobs sometimes" he said after they had left the restaurant.

"It's alright. Edward didn't mind at all" the hacker said. It was true. His family was a little intimidating, but nothing she couldn't handle.

"Well, did I tell you that you look beautiful?" he asked. Ed blushed again.

"Um… thank you" she said shyly. She rummaged through her giant purse and clicked the communicator off. After all, dinner was over, her mission was done for the night… the Bebop didn't need to be listening to her anymore…

* * *

"Oh, I bet Ed's going to get some kissing action" Faye said when the communicator went dead. "Jet's going to have a fit"

"He'll deal with it. Jealous fathers have to put up with this type of shit all the time" Spike said.

"Funny that they kind of adopted each other, huh?" Faye commented.

"I think Jet thinks he missed out on a family. It was only natural that he would adopt the only kid on the Bebop. Hell, I think he adopted us too" Spike said, following Mr. Anderson with his binoculars. The man had just left the restaurant and Spike wasn't surprised to see that he had not followed the path his wife had taken a few minutes earlier. Instead, he climbed into a different car. And inside the car was Natalya… but Mr. Anderson knew her as Natasha.

"Bingo. The black widow has snared her prey. She's taking him to her web to devour him" Spike murmured.

"What are you talking about?" Faye asked, taking the binoculars from his hands and elbowing him out of the way.

"I mean Mr. Anderson is going to fuck Natasha… or should I say Natalya... and she will have him trapped. He took the bait and she will have him… hook line and sinker."

"Damn. Men are so predictable, honestly. Show a little skin, play a little footsie… and bam. Done" Faye said, pushing the binoculars into Spike's hands.

She was right, of course. Men were suckers for beautiful women. Hell, she was proof of that. No matter how much he told himself to back off, all he wanted to do right then was kiss her.


End file.
